• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.149-159
• /
• 2005

Samples were collected from five stations in February, May, July, and September 2004 to investigate seasonal variations in the phytoplankton community and the relationship between dominant genera and environmental factors in Asan Bay. In February, microphytoplankton contributed 80% to the total chlorophyll a. Diatom dominated the phytoplankton community, accounting for 85.9% of the total cell number, followed by dinoflagellates (6%). Dominant species were Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira spp. Abundant diatom, including S. costatum and Thalassiosira spp., may be affected by water temperature and silicate at Station 1 and 2 in February 2004. In May, the nanophytoplankton contribution to total phytoplankton was higher than in other seasons. However, abundance of S. costatum and Thalassiosira spp. decreased, since the growth of S. costatum and Thalassiosira spp. might be limited by phosphates (P) resulting from low P concentration and a high DIN:DIP ratio in the outer region. In July, dominant phytoplankton groups were diatom (39%), cryptophyceae (28%), and cyanophyceae (20%). Dominant genera were Oscillatoria spp. and phytoflagellate of a monad type in the inner region (Station 1 and 2), whereas S. costatum was dominant in the outer region (Station 4 and 5). In September, dominant phytoplankton were diatom (69%) and cryptophyceae (28%). Dominant genera were phytoflagellate of the monad type, S. costatum in the inner region, while Chaetoceros spp. was dominant in the outer region.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.109-119
• /
• 2001

Meiobenthic community structure of tidal flats near the Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Plant have studied during summer (June) and fall (October) 1997. Examination of sediment samples collected along the transects showed that there were 18 different types of meiobenthos in the study area. The most abundant meiobenthic animals belonged to Phylum Nematoda in both seasons and all transects. However, sediment samples collected near discharge areas, transects A and B, showed relatively lower abundance than other general coastal areas. Another abundant meiobenthic organism is benthic Harpacticoids which is very sensitive to any environmental changes. Polycheats and Ostracods were next abundant meiobenthos which also showed the difference between the study area and other general coastal areas. Only transect C maintained similar meiobenthic abundance and diversity to other coastal areas. Horizontal distribution for transects A and B showed higher densities in upper and mid tidal flat zones. On the other hand, transect C which is located furtherest from the discharges showed an increasing trend in abundance from upper to lower areas. For size distribution analyses showed that animals which fit into the meshsize of 0.125 mm were abundant, Vertical distribution of meiobenthic animals within the sediments for both sampling seasons showed the highest individual numbers in the surface sediment layers of 0-1 cm depth and showed a decreasing trend as sediment gets deeper. Each class of meiobenthos had different vertical profiles. When comparing survey transects A and B with other similar tidal flat areas, this sites seems to a very unstable environment of tidal flats near the Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Plant.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.337-350
• /
• 2010

This study conducted sedimentological and geophysical surveys for 3 years (2006-2008) in southern Gyeonggi Bay, Korea to elucidate temporal changes in subaqueous dune morphology on a sand ridge trending northeast to southwest that has been excavated by marine sand mining. The sand ridge (~20 m in height, ~2 km in width and 3~4 km in length) has a steep slope on the NW side and a gentle slope on the SE side, creating an asymmetric profile. Large (10~100 m in length) and very large (>100 m in length) dunes occurring on the SE side of the ridge show a northeastward asymmetrical shape, whereas dunes on the NW side destroyed by marine sand mining display a southwestward asymmetry. The comparison between Flemming (1988)'s correlation and the height-length correlation of this study indicates that tidal current and availability of sand sediment are major controlling factors to the development and maintenance of dunes. Depth and sedimentary characteristics (grain size) are not likely to be major controlling factors, but indirectly influence dune growth by hydrological and sedimentary processes. The length and the height of dunes decrease toward the southeastern trough away from the crest of the ridge. These features result from the decrease of tidal current and sediment availability. The length and the height of dunes on the southeast side decrease gradually over time. This is a result of the interaction between tidal current and the decrease in sediment availability due to sediment extraction by marine sand mining. Marine sand mining has destroyed the dunes directly, causing irregular shapes of shorter length and lower height. The coarse fraction of suspended sediments is transported and deposited very close to the sand pit. By contrast, relatively fine sediments are transported by the tidal current and deposited over a wide range by the settling-lag effect, resulting in a decrease of sediment grain size in the area where suspended sediments are deposited. In addition, marine sand mining, decreases the height of dunes. Therefore, morphological and sedimentological characteristics of dunes around the sand pits will be significantly changed by future sand mining activities.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.231-238
• /
• 2009

A study was carried out to investigate the effect of water temperature on daily pattern and rate of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) excretion in juvenile dark-banded rockfish Sebastes inermis (mean body weight: $14.8{\pm}0.3g$) under fasting and feeding conditions. Fish were acclimated over 10 days under three different water temperatures (15, 20 and $25^{\circ}C$). After 72 hours of starvation, fasting TAN excretion was measured at each temperature. To investigate post-prandial TAN excretion, fish were hand-fed with a commercial diet containing 47.7% crude protein for 7 days, two times daily at 09:00 and 17:00 hr. Water was sampled from both the inlet and outlet of each chamber every 2 hrs over a 24 hr period. Both fasting and post-prandial TAN excretion increased with increase in water temperature (P<0.05). Mean fasting TAN excretion rates at 15, 20 and $25^{\circ}C$ were 8.1, 9.0 and 9.2 mg TAN kg $fish^{-1}h^{-1}$, respectively. The value of $15^{\circ}C$ was lower than those of 20 and $25^{\circ}C$ (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between $20^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$ (P>0.05). Mean post-prandial TAN excretion rates at 15, 20 and $25^{\circ}C$ were 20.1, 22.9 and 23.4 mg TAN kg $fish^{-1}h^{-1}$, respectively. A peak post-prandial TAN excretion rate occurred after 12 hrs from the first feeding at $15^{\circ}C$ (mean 28.7 mg TAN kg $fish^{-1}h^{-1}$), $20^{\circ}C$ (33.7 mg TAN kg $fish^{-1}h{-1}$) and $25^{\circ}C$ (36.8 mg TAN kg $fish^{-1}h{-1}$), respectively. The TAN loss for ingested nitrogen at $15^{\circ}C$ (36.2%) was lower than that of $20^{\circ}C$ (40.8%) and $25^{\circ}C$ (41.7%). Based on overall results, water temperature exerts a profound influence on the nitrogen metabolism of juvenile dark-banded rockfish.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.449-462
• /
• 2010

Ongoing port baseline surveys are essential for developing ballast water management procedures in order to control unwanted or potentially risky species. Seasonal distributional patterns of marine dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans internationally recognized as harmful species and the related environmental factors were surveyed at Incheon, Gwangyang and Ulsan seaports in Korea from 2007 to 2009. The above three seaports were chosen because of their status as the busiest in Korea and characterized by their different bioregions. Average temperature ranged from $2.08^{\circ}C$ in winter to $26.39^{\circ}C$ in summer at Incheon, $7.22^{\circ}C$ in winter to $25.77^{\circ}C$ in summer at Gwangyang, and $11.59^{\circ}C$ in winter to $21.67^{\circ}C$ in summer at Ulsan during the study period. Average salinity varied from 26.88 in winter to 31.25 in summer at Incheon, 22.83 in winter to 33.41 in summer at Gwangyang, and 30.04 in winter to 33.90 in summer at Ulsan. Noctiluca scintillans appeared consistently at all ports during the study period, indicating its eurythermal and euryhaline nature. The highest abundances (21,813 to 41,753 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$) of N. scintillans were observed in May 2008 and 2009 at the outer stations of Incheon port. Abundances of between 10,000 and 30,000 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$ were only observed at the innermost station of Ulsan in May, while abundances of between 10,000 and 40,000 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$ were frequently observed throughout all stations at Gwangyang during the study period, coinciding with consistently high concentration of chlorophyll-a (hereafter chl-a) ($4.32-8.24\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$) compared to other ports. Spatio-temporal variation of chl-a concentration was not significantly correlated with abundances of N. scintillans (p>0.01). However, relatively high chl-a concentrations were consistently recorded along with high abundances of N. scintillans throughout all stations at Gwangyang compared to other ports. Abundances of N. scintillans observed at the three surveyed ports did not significantly (p>0.01) affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the surface mixed layer, indicating that the species abundances were not enough to cause reduction of dissolved oxygen during the study period. Presented results indicated that the Gwangyang seaport may provide the most suitable environment for a wide range of N. scintillans blooming compared to other ports.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.255-276
• /
• 2014

The dispute between China and Japan regarding $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$ is believed to be quite similar to the controversy surrounding Dokdo in terms of historical and post-war processes except for the point that the phenomena of occupation is different with regard to Dokdo. China's claim to $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$ is based on historical title and continuous use while the basis of Japan's claim is summarized as preoccupancy of ownerless land. Even though Japan acknowledges that China discovered $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$, Japan claims that the act to establish sovereignty over the island from the standpoint of International Law was not taken by China. However, at that time, effective occupation was not an essential prerequisite for the acquisition of a territory. That is to say, from a legal perspective, the legal right for an area could be established based on the discovery of the land, and so it is thought that Japan is applying the current criteria of International Law in a manner that is inappropriate. When we review the post-war process, the San Francisco Peace Treaty does not directly mention $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$. But based on the said treaty, we can note that Japan gave up all rights for the southern area that is north of the boundary line that equates to latitude $29^{\circ}$ and that includes the Ryuku Islands and $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$. Of course, the provisions for the territory in the San Francisco Peace Treaty and its disposal are not the final factor for the judgment regarding dominium of $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$. However, it seems clear that Japan's attitude and interpretation regarding the issues of $Di\grave{a}oy\acute{u}t\acute{a}i$, the Kuril Islands and Dokdo is problematic.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.109-117
• /
• 2008

Application of biomarkers for assessing marine environmental health risk is a relatively new field. According to the National Research Council and the World Health Organization, biomarkers can be divided into three classes: biomarkers of exposure, biomarkers of effect, and biomarkers of susceptibility. In order to assess exposure to or effect of the environmental pollutants on marine ecosystem, the following set of biomarkers can be examined: detoxification, oxidative stress, biotransformation products, stress responses, apoptosis, physiological metabolisms, neuromuscular responses, reproductions, steroid hormones, antioxidants, genetic modifications. Since early 1990s, several biomarker research groups have developed health indices of marine organisms to be used for assessing the state of the marine environment. Biomarker indices can be used to interpret data obtained from monitoring biological effects. In this review, we will summarize Health assessment Index, Biomarker Index, Bioeffect Assessment Index and Generalized Linear Model. Measurements of biomarker responses and development of biomarker index in marine organisms from contaminated sites offer great a lot of information, which can be used in environmental monitoring programs, designed for various aspects of ecosystem risk assessment.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.58 no.7
• /
• pp.24.1-24.7
• /
• 2016

Background: Clinoptilolite is a natural zeolite with high adsorption capacity for polar mycotoxins such as aflatoxins. The efficacy of clinoptilolite in ameliorating the toxic effects of aflatoxicosis has been proven in monogastric animals, but there is no such evidence for ruminants. The aim of this study was to evaluate, under field conditions, whether the dietary administration of clinoptilolite in dairy cows could reduce the concentration of aflatoxin M1 ($AFM_1$) in bulk-tank milk, in farms with higher than or close to $0.05{\mu}g/kg$ of milk (European maximum allowed residual level). An objective of the present study was also to investigate the effect of particle size of clinoptilolite on aflatoxin binding. Methods: Fifteen commercial Greek dairy herds with AFM1 concentrations in bulk tank milk ${\geq}0.05{\mu}g/kg$ were selected. Bulk tank milk AFM1 was determined prior to the onset and on day 7 of the experiment. Clinoptilolite was added in the total mixed rations of all farms at the rate of 200 g per animal per day, throughout this period. Two different particle sizes of clinoptilolite were used; less than 0.15 mm in 9 farms (LC group) and less than 0.8 mm in 6 farms (HC group). Results: Clinoptilolite administration significantly reduced $AFM_1$ concentrations in milk in all farms tested at an average rate of 56.2 % (SD: 15.11). The mean milk $AFM_1$ concentration recorded on Day 7 was significantly (P < 0.001) lower compared to that of Day 0 ($0.036{\pm}0.0061$ vs. $0.078{\pm}0.0074{\mu}g/kg$). In LC group farms the reduction of milk $AFM_1$ concentration was significantly higher than HC group farms ($0.046{\pm}0.0074$ vs. $0.036{\pm}0.0061{\mu}g/kg$, P = 0.002). As indicated by the Pearson correlation, there was a significant and strong linear correlation among the milk $AFM_1$ concentrations on Days 0 and 7 (R = 0.95, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Dietary administration of clinoptilolite, especially of smallest particle size, at the rate of 200 g per cow per day can effectively reduce milk $AFM_1$ concentration in dairy cattle and can be used as a preventive measure for the amelioration of the risks associated with the presence of aflatoxins in the milk of dairy cows.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.84-92
• /
• 2002

A $32{\times}32$ pixels foveated (linear-polar) structure retina chip with the function of local-light adaptation for edge detection has been designed and fabricated using CMOS technology. Human retina can detect a wide range of light intensity. In this study, we use the biologically-inspired visual signal processing mechanism that consists of photoreceptors, horizontal cells, and bipolar cells in order to implement the function of edge detection in the retina chip. For a local-light adaptive function, the size of receptive field is changed locally according to the input light intensity. The spatial distribution of sensing pixels in the foveated retina chip has the advantages of selective reduction of image data and good resolution in central part to carry out the elaborate image processing with still enough resolution in the outer parts. The designed chip has been fabricated using standard $0.6\;{\mu}m$ double-poly triple-metal CMOS technology and optimized using HSPICE simulator.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.1156-1163
• /
• 1996

This study is related to the investigation of the characteristics of quaternary ammonium salt catalyst on the addition reaction of carbon dioxide and glycidyl methacrylate(GMA) to form(2-oxo-1,3-dioxolane-4-yl)methacrylate(DOMA). Among the salts tested, the ones with higher alkyl chain length and with more nucleophilic counter anion showed a higher catalytic activity. Mixed catalysts of NaI and 18-crown-6 showed a good yield of DOMA, but when they are used alone, they showed no catalytic activity. The DOMA monomer was obtained in low polar solvents, while poly(DOMA) could be directly synthesized in aprotic dipolar solvents. Kinetic studies carried out by measuring $CO_2$ pressure in a high pressure batch reactor showed that the reaction rate was first order to the concentration of GMA and $CO_2$ respectively. The rate constant(k) was 0.56L/mol hr and Henry's constant(H') of $CO_2$ in diglyme at $80^{\circ}C$ was $6.5{\times}10^{-4}mol/L{\cdot}kPa$.