• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.168-175
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of water extract of Dioscoreae Rhizome on the reproduction activity of Wistar male rat. The group treated with 1.0 g/kg/day oral administrations of water extract of Dioscoreae Rhizoma (SK0l6) during 8 weeks was compared with the normal group. Sperm count, sperm motility, body weight, and testis weight were investigated in two groups. Sperm count. body weight, and testis weight of two groups did not show the significant difference. But sperm motility of the treated group was reduced significantly (the normal group: 56.43 %, SK0l6 group: 53.47 %, p < 0.05). According to the results, SK0l6 have no effects on sperm count, body weight. and testis weight but reduced sperm motility significantly.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2013

This study examined the motility of either the unattached(upper) or attached(lower) Hanwoo sperm to bovine oviduct epithelial cell(BOEC) monolayers to determine whether there are any changes in their motility during co-culture. The cleavage and blastocyst development rate were compared among different preincubation methods in-vitro, after oocytes were fertilized in-vitro with Hanwoo sperm on BOEC monolayers. The motility of frozen-thawed sperm in BOEC co-culture group was significantly higher than controls, especially at 5 hours and 6 hours (p<0.05) of incubation, in sperm treatment medium without heparin and caffeine. The motility of frozen-thawed sperm in BOEC co-culture group was significantly higher than controls, especially at 3 hours (p<0.05) and 6 hours (p<0.01), in sperm treatment medium containing heparin and caffeine. The motility of the attached( lower) sperm was significantly higher than the unattached(upper) sperm during co-culture with BOEC at all times(p<0.01 or p<0.05), except for 6 hours. After Hanwoo oocytes were fertilized in-vitro with the sperm that had been co-cultured with BOEC in sperm treatment medium containing heparin and caffeine, we determined the cleavage and blastocyst development rate, according to the preincubation methods. Both the cleavage and blastocyst development rate from 2 hour preincubation group were the highest, but significant difference was not recognized. These results show that BOEC plays an important role on sperm hyperactivation related to capacitation regardless of heparin and caffeine in sperm treatment medium. However, oviduct epithelial cell had no significant effect on the development of embryos after in-vitro fertilization in the presence of added heparin and caffeine in sperm treatment medium.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.24-35
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• 2005

Purpose : This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Cynomorii Herba (鎖陽) on　the reproductive competence in male mice.　Methods ：　We used 8-week-old Spraque-Dawley rats and administered the extract powder of Cynomorii Herba to 5 rats and normal saline to control group once in a day for 28 days. Then we observed the changes of body weight before and after administration of Cynomorii Herba extracts and normal saline. We isolated their testis surgically and observed the weight of testis, epididymis, vascular gland and prostate. Also we examined the total, normal and motile sperm concentration, the concentration of testicular catalase, peroxidase and configuration of testicular tissue before and after administration of Cynomorii Herba extracts and normal saline. Results : We found that the concentration of total, normal, motile sperm in testis of Cynomorii Herba treated group shows significant difference compared with the control group. The body weight, the weight of testis, epididymis and the concentration of testicular catalase and peroxidase were higher in the Cynomorii Herba treated group, on the other hand the weight of vascular gland was lower in the Cynomorii Herba. But the contents of above statement showed no significant difference. The weight of　prostate showed lower in the control group statistically than that of the Cynomorii Herba treated group. We observed the seminiferous tubules taken shape minutely and the number of normal sperm increased in Cynomorii Herba treated group's testicular tissue. Conclusion This study shows that Cynomorii Herba may have an effect on the concentration, morphology and motility of sperm, the important factor in male fertility.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 1999

This study was performed to identify the effect of the hydrosalpinx fluid on sperm motility. It has been reported that the patients with hydrosalpinx show the outstandingly lower success rate than other patients having infertility by different factors. It is unclear that the cause of it is influenced by hydrosalpinx fluid directly or by secondary chronic inflammation of endometrium. We wanted to know if the hydrosalpinx fluid influences sperm motility parameters directly such that it is related to the development of infertility. Therefore, using computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA), we observed, from February to July, 1997, how sperm motility, sperm progressive motility, sperm curvilinear velocity, sperm lateral head displacement, sperm straightness and sperm linearity change after treating normal sperm with hydrosalpinx fluid to evaluate sperm function on infertility. The result was that the study group (n=32) has the tendency to differ from the control group (n=32) on sperm motility, progressive motility, curvilinear velocity, lateral head displacement, straightness and linearity. We concluded that the hydrosalpinx fluid, with varying degree, directly has the harmful effects on sperm motility parameters, that is, curvilinear velocity, lateral head displacement and linearity of sperm which are related to the hyperactivation, hence decreased capacitation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 1988

To increase fertilization rate in vitro, separation of viable spermatozoa from the seminal plasma and its other components may be a useful procedure. Ejaculates from healthy men, whose semen analysis findings were normal in 19, and abnormal in 10, were filtered using the glass-wool filtration technique to yield a concentrated, viable sperm samples for IVF, and the usefulness and safety of this method were evaluated. The recovery rate of motile sperm in abnormal groups was 46.2% and 54.5% in normal group. The % motility was increased significantly compared with original sample after filtration, and the grade motility was improved, too. The sperm population with normal morphology was also increased significantly in both group. Using transmission electron microscopy, the ultrastructural integrity of acrosomal segment was examined in order to evaluate the potentially hazardous effect of glass-wool filtration to sperm head, however, sperm population with normal ultrastructure was increased compared with that of original ejaculate after separation. The filtered sperm was then processed for IVF, as the fertilizing capacity is the ultimate parameter of the sperm function. In abnormal group, the fertilization rate(41.5 %) and the ET rate per stimulated cycle were much lower than that of mormal group(69.6%). However, the cleavage rate and the number of embryos transfered per ET cycle were comparable with those of nomal group. The results suggest that the glass-wool filtration of sperm, particularly in oligo-asthenozoospsrmia, may be useful and safe method in the preparation of sperm for IVF.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.116-123
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• 2018

The sperm quality is determined by the kinetic characteristics and acrosome integrity of the sperm. In the previous studies, analysis of semen quality had large errors because those experiments by using microscope had been conducted by people. In recent years, the molecular biological methods have been newly developed to complement the previous techniques. The ZAR1 gene is known to be a gene that affects early embryonic development in vertebrates, but there is no study of the association with semen. In this study, we analyzed the association between the kinetic characteristics and ZAR1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype. To detect the SNPs, we performed sequencing using genomic DNA from the whole bloods of Duroc pigs. We identified an SNP in the ZAR1 gene g.2540T>C. ZAR1 SNP genotypeing in 105 pigs revealed that the major and minor alleles were T and C, respectively. After we analyzed the association between the kinetic characteristics of sperm and the ZAR1 SNP genotype, we found a significant association in MOT (p<0.01), VSL (p<0.05) of the kinetic characteristics in the Duroc boars. It was confirmed that the boars with T allele were lower in MOT and VSL than C allele. Therefore, pigs with C allele are judged to be better at the MOT and VSL of semen. Based on these results, ZAR1 SNP genotyping may be a useful molecular biomarker to improve semen quality by applying molecular breeding technology.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 2000

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of breed, age of boar, season, parity and mating system on boar semen characteristics and fertilizing capacity. A total of 4181 sows and 199 boars of Durocs (D), Landraces (L), and Yorkshires (Y) were used for this experiment at Darby Artificicial Insemination Center from 1996 through 1999. Semen volume per ejaculate was largest in Landrace (266.8 $m\ell$), followed by Yorkshire, and was smallest in Duroc. Sperm motility did not show significant differences among the above breeds. Sperm concentration was lowest in Landrace (4.7$\times$10$^{9}$ sperm/$m\ell$) and was highest in Duroc (5.7$\times$10$^{9}$ sperm/$m\ell$). Semen volume per ejaculate according to the age of boars was largest at the age of 2 years, followed by the age of 4 and 3 years, and was smallest at the age of I year. Semen volume per ejaculate according to the season in boars was largest in winter (228.6 $m\ell$), followed by autumn and summer, and was smallest in spring. Sperm concentration was highest in spring (5.9$\times$10$^{9}$ sperm/$m\ell$), followed by summer and winter, and was lowest in autumn. The average litter weight at birth did not show any differences according to the mating type. But the number of pigs born alive per litter was largest (9.5 pigs) in the natural mating ＋ artificial insemination group, followed by the artificial insemination group (9.2 pigs), and was smallest (8.9 pigs) in the natural mating group (P＜0.01). The average litter weight at birth and number of pigs born alive per litter did not show any differences between the natural mating and artificial insemination. The L (♀)$\times$Y (♂) and L (♀)$\times$L (♂) matings show $\varepsilon$ d higher average litter weight at birth and number of pigs born alive per litter than the Y (♀) $\times$ Y (♂) and Y (♀) $\times$ L (♂) matings. The pigs in the 2~6th parities had higher average litter weight at birth and number of pigs born alive per litter than those in the 1 st and 7~9th parities.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2001

Objective: ICSI with testicular sperm could achieve optimal fertilization and pregnancy. This study was performed to observe the influence on fertilization and pregnancy of motility of fresh testicular sperm and sperm extracted from frozen-thawed seminiferous tubules in obstructive azoospermia. Materials and Methods: We analysed clinical outcome of ICSI using fresh testicular sperm and sperm extracted from thawed seminiferous tubules. The presence of motility were compared to determine the factor for optimal fertilization and pregnancy rates. Results: In 316 cases of TESE-ICSI in obstructive azoospermia, ICSI with fresh testicular sperm (fresh sperm group) were 163 cases and ICSI with sperm testicular sperm extracted from frozen-thawed seminiferous tubule (thawed sperm group) were 153 cases. The fertilization rates were 71.3% and pregnancy rates were 32.5% in fresh sperm group, in thawed sperm group, 65.1% and 33.3% respectively. The fertilization and pregnancy rates of motile and non-motile testicular sperm were 72.9% and 33.6%, 50.0% and 18.2%, respectively (p<0.05). The fertilization and pregnancy rates of motile and non-motile sperm extracted from the thawed seminiferous tubule were 67.8% and 34.7%, 55.1% and 28.1%, respectively (p<0.05). The comparative of the results of ICSI using motile fresh testicular sperm and motile sperm extracted from thawed seminiferous tubule, fertilization and pregnancy rates were not significantly different (72.9% and 33.6%, 67.8% and 34.7%, respectively). Conclusion: These results suggest that successful pregnancy in TESE-ICSI treatment is influenced by the motility of fresh testicular sperm and sperm extracted from thawed seminiferous tubule in obstructive azoospennic patients.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.7-17
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• 2009

The precise analysis of exercise data for designing an effective rehabilitation system is very important as a feedback for planing the next exercising step. Many subjective and reliable research outcomes that were obtained by analysis and evaluation for the human motor ability by various methods of biomechanical experiments have been introduced. Most of them include quantitative analysis based on basic statistical methods, which are not practical enough for application to real clinical problems. In this situation, data mining technology can be a promising approach for clinical decision support system by discovering meaningful hidden rules and patterns from large volume of data obtained from the problem domain. In this research, in order to find relational rules between posture training type and muscle activation pattern, we investigated an application of the WAR(Weishted Association Rule) to the biomechanical data obtained mainly for evaluation of postural control ability. The discovered rules can be used as a quantitative prior knowledge for expert's decision making for rehabilitation plan. The discovered rules can be used as a more qualitative and useful priori knowledge for the rehabilitation and clinical expert's decision-making, and as a index for planning an optimal rehabilitation exercise model for a patient.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.239-242
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• 2009

최근 3 차원 측정 기술을 활용한 운동 기능성의 향상을 위한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 그 예로 3 차원 인체 정보를 이용한 의복패턴 제작 시에 필요한 절개선으로 피부상에서 동작 시 늘어나지 않는 선(Lines of Non-Extension, LoNE)을 찾아내어 활용한 연구가 발표된 바 있다. 이러한 LoNE 은 기존 의복구성을 위한 봉제선이나 기능선으로 활용될 때 동작기능성을 저해하지 않는 특징이 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 스포츠웨어에서 활동성이 큰 상체의 어깨부위에서 Lines of Non-Extension 을 탐색하고자 하였다. 연구 방법으로는 20 대 후반 남성 2 명을 대상으로 체표의 등 부분에서 3cm 간격으로 계측점을 표시한 후 3D 인체 데이터 (Cyberware, WB)를 획득하였다. 측정시의 자세는 팔을 $30^{\circ}$, $90^{\circ}$, $135^{\circ}$, $180^{\circ}$ 외전시켰다. 피부 표면에서의 길이 변화는 구획의 크기를 달리하면서 가로, 세로, 사선방향으로 동작에 따라서 측정하였다. 변화량은 정자세($30^{\circ}$)를 기준으로 A 라 하였을 때, 기준자세와의 차이가 가장 큰 변화량을 보인 자세를 B 라 하고 A 와 B 간의 차이로 계산하였다. 연구결과, NASA 의 Biosuit 에서 소개된 Iberall(1970)의 LoNE 중 진동둘레를 포함한 팔 부위와 등, 어깨 부위에서 유사한 라인을 찾았다. 본 연구에서와 같이 구획별 사선방향 피부 변화량을 측정하는 것은 피부면에 숨겨진 인간공학적 의복 기능선을 탐색하는 데 효과적임을 확인하였다.