• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2023

Objective: Sleep deprivation (SD) is a common problem in today's stressful lifestyle and have physiological consequences, including reproductive dysfunction and infertility. As an antioxidant, olive oil may be effective in reducing testicular and spermatological damage by decreasing the production of free radicals. Methods: This study investigated the effects of olive oil on sperm quality and testicular structure using stereological methods to assess rats with SD. Results: When comparing SD group to grid floor+distilled water (GR) group, we found that the sperm count and motility, as well as the percentage of slow progressive sperm was significantly lower in SD group (p<0.05), but the percentage of immotile sperm was higher (p<0.01). However, no improvement was observed in sperm count or motility after concomitant treatment of SD group with olive oil. Stereological examinations revealed no significant change in the total volumes of the seminiferous tubules, interstitial tissue, and germinal epithelium in the study groups. Conversely, the total number of testicular cell types was significantly lower in SD group than in GR group. Although the total number of Sertoli and Leydig cells was significantly higher in the S +olive oil group than in the untreated SD group, no significant difference in the total number of other testicular cell types was observed between the two groups. Conclusion: SD potentially induced structural changes in testis that affected sperm count and motility. However, olive oil only improved the total number of Sertoli and Leydig cells in the animals with SD and did not improve sperm count and motility.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2022

The objective of this study was to verify the effect of pig slurry application with acidification and biochar on feed value, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of maize forage, and ammonia (NH₃) emission. The four treatments were applied: 1) non-pig slurry (only water as a control, C), 2) only pig slurry application (P), 3) acidified pig slurry application (AP), 4) acidified pig slurry application with biochar (APB). The pig slurry and biochar were applied at a rate of 150 kg N ha^-1 and 300 kg ha^-1, respectively. The AP and APB treatments enhanced all feed values compared to C and P treatments. The NUE for plant N was significantly increased 92.1% by AP and APB treatment, respectively, compared to the P treatment. On the other hand, feed values were not significantly different between AP and APB treatments. The acidification treatment with/without biochar significantly mitigated NH₃ emission compared to the P treatment. The cumulative NH₃ emission throughout the period of measurement decreased by 71.4% and 74.8% in the AP and APB treatments. Also, APB treatment reduced ammonia emission by 11.9% compared to AP treatment. The present study clearly showed that acidification and biochar can reduce ammonia emission from pig slurry application, and pig slurry application with acidification and biochar exhibited potential effects in feed value, NUE, and reducing N losses from pig slurry application through reduction of NH₃ emission.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.193-201
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• 2023

Prebiotics are known as components of intestinal microbiota that can improve and maintain human health status by stimulating the growth and activity of the intestinal tract as a method of controlling the intestinal environment. In this study, we examined whether 2'-fucosyllactose (FL) could affect intestinal microbial population and bowel activity. Water content and frequency of mouse feces were increased in the 2'-FL treated group at a high concentration (1,000 mg/kg), with brightness of the color enhanced and physical properties diluted. In addition, intestinal microbial analysis showed that harmful bacteria Clostridium and Staphylococcus strains were decreased and beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus strains were markedly increased in the group treated with a high concentration of 2'-FL compared to those in the control group. These findings suggest that administration of 2'-FL can maintain healthy bowel activity by reducing harmful bacteria population and improving diluted physical properties.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2006

Puh-erh tea was extracted with water and then fractionated sequentially with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol to find antioxidative compounds. The fractions were examined on the antioxidant activity using two different methods, free radical scavenging activity measurement and reductive potential. Those antioxidant activities were compared to standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole(BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol. EA fraction of Pu-erh tea was showed excellent antioxidative activities over BHA and BHT.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

As a result of climate change, non-point source pollution (NPS) from farmland with the steep slope during the rainy season is expected to have a significant impact on the water system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of furrow mulching using alfalfa and PAM (Polyacrylamide) materials for each rainfall event, while considering the load characteristics of NPS. The study was conducted in Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do, in 2022, with a testbed that had a slope of 13%, sandy loam soil, and maize crops. The testbed was composed of four plots: bare soil (Bare), No mulching (Cont.), Vegetation mulching (VM), and PAM mulching (PM). Runoff was collected from each rainfall event using a 1/40 sampler and the NPS load was calculated by measuring the concentrations of SS, T-N, T-P, and TOC. During farming season, the reduction efficiency of NPS load was 37.1~59.5% for VM and 38.2~75.7% for PM. The analysis found that VM had a linear regression correlation (R²=0.28~0.86, P-value=0.01~0.1) with elapsed time of application, while PM had a quadratic regression correlation (R²=0.35~0.80, P-value=0.1). These results suggest that the selection of furrow mulch materials and the appropriate application method play a crucial role in reducing non-point pollution in farmland. Therefore, further studies on the time-series reduction effect based on the application method are recommended to develop more effective preemptive reduction technologies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.235-242
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• 2008

In this study, the physicochemical and microbiological properties of market-available skate (Raja kenojei) kimchi were evaluated in comparison to long-term fermented Baechu kimchi. The comparative results for the skate (Raja kenojei) and Baechu kimchi products are as follows: salt concentrations = 3.40% and 3.95%, respectively; pH and acidity values = 4.01 and 3.90, and 0.65% and 0.82%, respectively; redox potential Eh values = 119.82 mV and 123.08 mV respectively; reducing sugars levels = 15.51 mg% and 13.23mg%, respectively; ascorbic acid levels = 24.21mg% and 22.18mg%, respectively; color L-values = 46.86 and 44.54, a-values = 15.46 and 12.28, and b-values = 29.94 and 28.36, respectively; hardness properties = 11.36 kgf and 10.23 kgf, respectively; hot water soluble pectin (HWSP) contents and sodium hexametaphosphate soluble pectin (NaSP) contents = 15.23% and 17.35%, and 32.51% and 29.64%, respectively; hydrochloric acid soluble pectin (HClSP) contents = 55.1% and 53.2%, respectively; total viable cell counts = $4.78{\times}10^8$ and $1.35{\times}10^8$, respectively; lactic acid bacteria counts = $5.18{\times}10^5$ and $1.32{\times}10^5$, respectively; and yeast levels = $8.52{\times}10^5$ and $5.23{\times}10^5$, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.6-13
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• 2019

[Purpose] In this study, we examined the in vitro antioxidant activities and laxative effects of taurine-xylose (T-X), a synthetic taurine-carbohydrate derivative, in a rat model of constipation induced by loperamide. [Methods] The animals were divided into four treatment groups: normal untreated rats (NOR group), loperamide-treated control rats (CON group), loperamide and taurine-xylose (15 mg/kg)-treated rats (T-X group), and loperamide and commercial Dulcolax S (5.5 mg/kg)-treated rats (DS group). [Results] In the present study, T-X exhibited potent reducing power and free radical scavenging activities for DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS+ (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline 6-sulfonic acid ammonium salt) radicals. The laxative effects of T-X were dependent on food, body weight, fecal properties, gastrointestinal transit (GIT) ratio, and serum metabolic parameters. In the T-X group, the number, wet weight, and water content of fecal pellets were noticeably increased compared to those in the loperamide-induced group. T-X treatment significantly increased the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes, including those of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), relative to those in loperamide-induced constipated rats. Furthermore, the GIT ratio and loperamide-induced metabolic parameters in serum, including gastrin (GAS), motilin (MTL), and somatostatin (SS) levels, were significantly improved by T-X treatment. [Conclusion] These results suggest that taurine-xylose exerts antioxidant activities and laxative effects on loperamide-induced constipation by promoting gastrointestinal motility.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.339-352
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• 2022

Studying slope stability is an important branch of civil engineering. In this way, engineers have employed machine learning models, due to their high efficiency in complex calculations. This paper examines the robustness of various novel optimization schemes, namely equilibrium optimizer (EO), Harris hawks optimization (HHO), water cycle algorithm (WCA), biogeography-based optimization (BBO), dragonfly algorithm (DA), grey wolf optimization (GWO), and teaching learning-based optimization (TLBO) for enhancing the performance of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in slope stability prediction. The hybrid models estimate the factor of safety (F_S) of a cohesive soil-footing system. The role of these algorithms lies in finding the optimal parameters of the membership function in the fuzzy system. By examining the convergence proceeding of the proposed hybrids, the best population sizes are selected, and the corresponding results are compared to the typical ANFIS. Accuracy assessments via root mean square error, mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error, and Pearson correlation coefficient showed that all models can reliably understand and reproduce the F_S behavior. Moreover, applying the WCA, EO, GWO, and TLBO resulted in reducing both learning and prediction error of the ANFIS. Also, an efficiency comparison demonstrated the WCA-ANFIS as the most accurate hybrid, while the GWO-ANFIS was the fastest promising model. Overall, the findings of this research professed the suitability of improved intelligent models for practical slope stability evaluations.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.273-280
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• 2023

Background: Intraoral local anesthesia is essential for delivering dental care; however, injection of this local anesthetic is perceived as the most painful and distressing agent for children, parents, and healthcare providers. Reducing pain as much as possible is essential to ensure smooth subsequent treatment procedures, especially in pediatric dentistry. In clinical practice, oral sucrose administration has been reported to decrease the pain during heel lance and cold pressor tests in neonates and children. This study aimed to determine whether the prior administration of a 30% sucrose solution reduced the pain related to inferior alveolar nerve block in children. Methods: A total of 42 healthy children aged 7-10 years requiring dental treatment of mandibular molars involving inferior alveolar nerve block were recruited. The participants' demographic details were recorded, height and weight were measured, and the anesthetic injection was delivered after receiving the respective intraoral sucrose solution and distilled water by the intervention (group 1) and control (group 2) group participants for 2 min. The subjective pain perceived during injection was measured using an animated emoji scale. The pain scores between the groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The median pain score and range for the intervention and control groups were 4 (2 - 6) and 6 (4 - 8), respectively, and statistically significant differences (P < 0.001) were observed in the intervention group. Age, sex, height, and weight did not influence the analgesic effect of the sucrose solution. Conclusion: Oral administration of sucrose may relieve pain associated with inferior alveolar nerve block in children.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.285-292
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• 2023

As various accidents have occurred in underground spaces, we aim to improve the quality validation standards and methods as specified in the Regulations on Producing Integrated Map of Underground Spaces devised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea for a high-quality integrated map of underground spaces. Specifically, we propose measures to improve the quality assurance of pipeline-type underground facilities, the so-called life lines given their importance for citizens' daily activities and their highest risk of accident among the 16 types of underground facilities. After implementing quality validation software based on the developed quality validation standards, the adequacy of the validation standards was demonstrated by testing using data from two-dimensional water supply facilities in some areas of Busan, Korea. This paper has great significance in that it has laid the foundation for reducing the time and manpower required for data quality inspection and improving data quality reliability by improving current quality validation standards and developing technologies that can automatically extract errors through software.