• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.195-204
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• 2019

In this study, we examined the effect of a liposome-based extender (Optixcell) and a tris-citric egg-yolk extender (Triladyl) on the frozen-thawed spermatozoa characteristics and the calving rate. The percentages for the total motility of the frozen-thawed spermatozoa were similar in the Optixcell and Triladyl groups. However, among the motile spermatozoa with a straight line velocity (VSL) ${\geq}25{\mu}m/sec$, the curvilinear velocity (VCL, ${\mu}m/sec$), VSL (${\mu}m/sec$), average path velocity (VAP, ${\mu}m/sec$), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH, ${\mu}m$), beat cross frequency (BCF, Hz), and plasma membrane integrity of the frozen-thawed spermatozoa for the Optixcell group were significantly higher than those for the Triladyl group. Furthermore, the calving rate in the Optixcell group (79.0%) was higher than that of the Triladyl group (62.8%). However, the acrosomal membrane integrity of the frozen-thawed spermatozoa in the Optixcell and Triladyl groups was not significantly different. These results indicate that semen freezing with Optixcell improved the motility and plasma membrane integrity of frozen-thawed spermatozoa and the calving rate of Hanwoo cows (native Korean cattle). In conclusion, our results suggest that semen freezing with the liposome-based extender Optixcell is more efficient than with the tris-citric egg-yolk extender Triladyl for improved offspring production.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1130-1139
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• 2024

Objective: The daily maximum temperature and seawater level continuously increase as global warming continues. We examined the adaptability and production performance of heat-stressed goats with a supply of low-saline drinking water. Methods: Twelve Kacang and Kacang Etawah cross goats were exposed to two climatic conditions (control, 25℃ to 33℃, 83% relative humidity [RH], temperature humidity index [THI]: 76 to 86; and hot environment, 26℃ to 39℃, 81% RH, THI: 77 to 94) and two salt levels in drinking water (0% and 0.4% NaCl). The experimental design was a Latin Square (4×4) with four treatments and four periods (28 days each). Results: Temperature of the rectal, skin, and udder, and respiration rate rose, reached a maximum level on the first day of heat exposures, and then recovered. Plasma sodium rose at 0.4% NaCl level, while the hot environment and salinity treatments increased the drinking water to dry matter (DM) intake ratio. Water excretion was elevated in the hot environment but lowered by the increase in salinity. Total lying time increased, whereas change position frequency decreased in the hot condition. Lying and ruminating and total ruminating time increased and explained the enhanced DM digestibility in the hot conditions. Conclusion: The goats exhibited a high level of plasma sodium as salinity increased, and they demonstrated physiological and behavioral alterations while maintaining their production performances under increasing daily maximum temperatures.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.814-822
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• 2016

This study was conducted to determine and compare the effects of yeast yeast culture (YC) and vitamin E (VE) supplementation on endotoxin absorption and antioxidant status in lactating dairy goats suffering from heat stress (HS). Three first lactation Saanen dairy goats (body weight $30{\pm}1.5kg$) were surgically fitted with indwelling catheters in the portal vein, mesenteric vein and carotid artery, and were randomly assigned to a $3{\times}3$ Latin square design. Dietary treatments were the basal diet, and the basal diet supplemented with either 100 IU VE or 30 g YC. Goats were kept in temperature and humidity-controlled room at $35^{\circ}C$ from 8:00 to 20:00 and at $24^{\circ}C$ from 20:00 till the next morning at 8:00. The relative humidity was kept at 55%. HS increased dairy goats' rectum temperature and respiration frequency (p<0.01). HS reduced plasma flux rate of milk goats (p<0.01), but the plasma flux rate increased when the animal was under the conditions of the thermo-neutral period (p<0.01). The VE supplementation lowered dairy goats' rectum temperature during thermo-neutral period (p<0.01). Meanwhile, no significant differences were observed between the control and YC treatment in rectum temperature and respiration frequency (p>0.05). Dietary supplementation of VE and YC reduced heat stressed dairy goats' endotoxin concentration of the carotid artery and portal vein (p<0.01). However, the endotoxin concentration of the YC treatment was higher than that of the VE treatment (p<0.01). Both VE and YC supplementation decreased heat stressed dairy goats' absorption of endotoxin in portal vein (p<0.01). The endotoxin absorption of YC treatment was higher than the VE treatment (p<0.01). The addition of VE and YC decreased dairy goats' superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentration during HS and the whole experiment period (p<0.01). The addition of VE lowered SOD concentration during thermo-neutral period (p<0.01). Likewise, the addition of VE and YC lowered dairy goats' malonaldehyde (MDA) concentration during HS and the whole experimental period, and the MDA concentration in the VE treatment was lower than the YC treatment (p<0.05). The addition of VE decreased MDA concentration during thermo-neutral period. On the contrast, the addition of VE increased dairy goats total antioxidant potential (TAP) concentration during HS, thermo-neutral and the whole experimental period (p<0.01). The addition of YC increased TAP concentration only during HS period (p<0.01). It is concluded that both VE and YC are useful in alleviating HS of dairy goats by weakening endotoxin absorption and promoting antioxidant capacity. Compared with YC, VE is much more powerful in easing dairy goats HS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2000

For hazardous air pollutants(HAP) such as NO, $NO_2$ and $SO_2$ decomposition efficiency, power consumption, and applied voltage were investigated by SPCP(Surface induced discharge Plasma Chemical Processing) reactor to obtain optimum process variables and maximum decomposition efficiencies. Decomposition efficiency of HAP with various electric frequencies(5~50 kHz), flow rates(100~1,000 mL/min), initial concentrations(100~1,000 ppm) and additive($CH_4$) were measured and the products were analyzed with FT-IR. Experimental results showed that for the frequency of 10 kHz, the highest decomposition efficiency of 94.3 % for NO, 84.7 % for $NO_2$ and 99 % far $SO_2$ were observed at the power consumptions of 19.8, 20 and 19W, respectively, and that decomposition efficiency decreased with increasing frequency above 20 kHz. And decomposition efficiency per unit power were 5.21 %/W for $SO_2$, 4.76 %/W for NO and 4.24 %/W for $NO_2$ and the highest decomposition efficiency was observed with $SO_2$. Decomposition efficiency was increased with increasing residence times and with decreasing initial concentration of pollutants. When the additive of $CH_4$ was used, decomposition efficiency was increased with increasing $CH_4$ content, and NO, $NO_2$ and $SO_2$ were almost completely decomposed with the efficiency of 99 %, 98 % and 99 %, respectively and therefore $CH_4$ was a good additive material. The optimum power for the maximum decomposition efficiency were 7.5 W for $SO_2$, 9.5 W for NO and 15.5 W for $NO_2$, respectively. Optimum power with the maximum decomposition efficiency were 9.5 W at 1,000 ppm of NO, 7~8 W at 100~500 ppm of NO and 15.5 W at all concentration range of $NO_2$ and 11.5 W at 1,000 ppm, 4.9 W at 500 ppm, 3.7 W at 100~300 ppm of $SO_2$ and power efficiency was best in these case.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.543-563
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• 1999

For hazardous air pollutants(HAP) such as NO and $NO_2$ decomposition efficiency, power consumption, and applied voltage were investigated by SPCP(surface induced discharge plasma chemical processing) reactor to obtain optimum process variables and maximum decomposition efficiencies. Decomposition efficiency of HAP with various electric frequencies(5~50 kHz), flow rates(100~1,000 mL/min) initial concentrations(100~1,000 ppm), electrode materials(W, Cu, Al), electrode thickness(1, 2, 3 mm) and number of electrode windings(7, 9, 11) were measured. Experimental results showed that for the frequency of 10 kHz, the highest decomposition efficiency of 94.3% for NO and 84.7% for $NO_2$ were observed at the poser consumptions of 19.8 and 29W respectively and that decomposition efficiency decreased with increasing frequency above 20 kHz. Decomposition efficiency was increased with increasing residence times and with decreasing initial concentration of pollutants. Decomposition efficiency was increased with increasing thickness of discharge electrode and the highest decomposition efficiency was obtained for the electrode diameter of 3mm in this experiment. As the electrode material, decomposition efficiency was in order : tungsten(W), copper(Cu), aluminum(Al).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1-5
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• 2000

Recently alternating-current Plasma Display Panel(AC-PDP) is in the spotlight as a digital television and high definition television. The panel structure widely adapted in commercial AC-PDP is three electrodes surface discharge type. At present time, the luminous efficiency is around 1lm/W, it should be a key factor for the commercialization. For the high luminous efficiency, the development of panel structure is necessary. At a given panel structure, a driving method should be optimized to get a sufficient luminous efficiency. The display image of AC-PDP could be realized by the repeated light emission from the discharge. Because most of discharge power is consumed in the sustaining period, the optimization of sustaining waveform is very important for the high luminous efficiency. ADS (Address and Display period Separated) driving method is commonly used. The average driving frequency of ADS driving method is ranged by several tens kilo of [kHz], however the actual frequency of sustaining period is in range of 100[kHz] to 200[kHz]. Based on this study, when the phosphor emits the visible light, it has a decay time of few milliseconds due to the material transfer to the phosphor to emit the visible light. Consequently the luminous efficiency decreases in proportion to the driving frequency. It is found that the luminous efficiency could be significantly improved by the low frequency sustaining driving method.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play an important role in impairing the function of T cells. We characterized MDSCs in two chronic hepatitis C (CHC) cohorts: a cross-sectional group that included 61 treatment-naive patients with CHC, 14 rapid virologic response (RVR) cases and 22 early virologic response (EVR) cases; and a longitudinal group of 13 cases of RVR and 10 cases of EVR after pegylated-interferon-${\alpha}$/ribavirin treatment for genotype 1b HCV infection. Liver samples from 32 CHC patients and six healthy controls were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. MDSCs frequency in treatment-naive CHC was significantly higher than in RVR, EVR, or healthy subjects and was positively correlated with HCV RNA. Patients infected with HCV genotype 2a had a significantly higher frequency of MDSCs than those infected with genotype 1b. Decreased T cell receptor (TCR) ${\zeta}$ expression on $CD8^+$ T cells was significantly associated with an increased frequency of MDSCs in treatment-naive CHC patients and was restored by L-arginine treatment in vitro. Increased numbers of liver arginase-$1^+$ cells were closely associated with the histological activity index in CHC. The TCR ${\zeta}$ chain was significantly downregulated on hepatic $CD8^+$ T cells in CHC. During antiviral follow up, MDSCs frequency in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was directly correlated with the HCV RNA load in the plasma and inversely correlated with TCR ${\zeta}$ chain expression in $CD8^+$ T cells in both RVR and EVR cases. Notably, the RVR group had a higher frequency of MDSCs at baseline than the EVR group. Collectively, this study provides evidence that MDSCs might be associated with HCV persistence and downregulation of CD8 ${\zeta}$ chain expression.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.15 no.1 s.45
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• pp.52-59
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• 2006

This paper examined the conversion of methane to hydrogen and other higher hydrocarbons using dielectric barrier discharge with AC pulse power. Two metal electrodes of a coaxial-type plasma reactor were separated by gas gap and an alumina tube. The inner electrode was located inside the alumina tube. The alumina tube was located inside the stainless steel tube, which was used as the outer electrode. Effect of feed gas composition (methane, oxygen, argon, water and helium), flow rate, applied frequency, input volt-age on methane conversion and product distribution were studied. The major products of plasma chemical reactions were ethylene, ethane, propane, buthane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The increment of applied voltage and the usage of inert gas as the background (helium and argon) enhanced the selectivity of hydrocarbons and methane conversion. The addition of water in the feed stream enhanced the conversion of methane and yield of hydrogen. Higher voltage leads to higher yield of $C_2H_6,\;C_3H_8,\;C_4H_{10}$ and yield or $C_2H_2\;and\;C_2H_4$ appeared highly in lower voltage.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.273-280
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• 1988

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the medial amygdaloid nucleus on the pancreatic exocrine secretion and plasma secretin concentration in 44 male albino rats. Twenty-three rats in which the medial amygdaloid nucleus was damaged bilaterally by radio frequency a.c. through stereotaxically inserted electrodes (medical amygdaloid group, MA) and twenty-one rats which received the same operation without damage (operated control, OC), were prepared. Under urethan anesthesia, 0.01 N hydrochloric acid (HCl) or physiological saline (0.9% NaCl) was infused at a rate of 0.18 ml/min into the duodenum for 20 minutes. Pancreatic jucie was collected for the 20 min infusion period. After collection of pancreatic juice, blood was sampled from the abdominal aorta for the radioimmunoassay of plasma secretin concentration. In the MA group, the exocrine pancreatic secretory response to 0.01 N HCI as well as saline infusion was significantly inhibited compared with that in the OC group. The pancreatic protein output of the MA group significantly decreased after the saline infusion and tended to decrease after the 0.01 N HCI infusion, compared with that of the OC group. However, there was no significant difference in plasma secretin concentration between the two groups. Therefore it is strongly suggested that the rat medial amygdaloid nucleus has a facilitatory influence on both basal and acid-stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion, but the releasing mechanism of secretin appears not to be involved in the influence.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.145-164
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• 2014

Nuclear fusion is one of the most promising options for generating large amounts of carbon-free energy in the future. Major countries such as China, EU, and Japan have established a national plan for DEMO construction and they are implementing it. Korea has started a nuclear fusion research and development by the KSTAR project started in 1995. There are matured needs for a full-scale research and development initiatives to ensure competition with the major countries for DEMO as well as achieve the final goal to commercialize fusion energy. In this paper, we apply the TRL and AHP methods in order to identify the key technologies to conduct DEMO R&D. We propose the priorities of future R&D on DEMO by deriving a core technology in the field. At first, we review the scientific theory of fusion and trend of progress of DEMO activities in major countries. For previous studies, we review TRL and AHP methods to examine the technology classification system of DEMO and identify key technologies. We apply TRL method to identify readiness level of DEMO technologies and AHP to compensate shortcoming of TRL. The key technologies of DEMO to be secured from a synthesis result of the TRL and AHP are burning plasma, plasma facing material, structural material, high frequency heating, neutral particle beam, safety, plasma diagnostic, and simulation technologies.