• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.789-794
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• 2007

A PCR-aided monitoring of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) was performed over the period of 12 months by using fresh feces collected monthly from 5 dairy cows that had been identified as VTEC carriers. The PCR products were confirmed to be verotoxin genes by Southern hybridization using a gene fragment of verotoxin 2 as a probe. Although seasonal variation of VTEC shedding seemed to depend on each cow, several factors may have influenced the frequency of detection. Shedding of VTEC tended to be reduced during grazing from the middle of May up to the beginning of October. Only one cow was positive for VTEC in August. Dry-off was also suggested to have a depressive effect on VTEC shedding, i.e. 3 of 4 dry cows showed no shedding of VTEC. Contrary to these factors, winter or indoor rearing tended to increase VTEC with only 5/24 samples being negative during the period from November to April. Total VFA concentration was higher (p<0.05) in VTEC-positive feces than in VTEC-negative feces, while fecal pH and VFA proportions were not different. Partial sequences of verotoxin genes from feces of 4 VTEC-positive cows were nearly identical (99-100%), suggesting that gut bacteria sharing the same gene were distributed among the cows. The present results indicate that grazing and dry-off could be factors which reduce VTEC shedding, while winter/indoor rearing may be a factor which increases the shedding, possibly through on-farm interactions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.592-598
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• 2015

Stress adversely affects the wellbeing of commercial chickens, and comes with an economic cost to the industry that cannot be ignored. In this paper, we first develop an inexpensive and non-invasive, automatic online-monitoring prototype that uses sound data to notify producers of a stressful situation in a commercial poultry facility. The proposed system is structured hierarchically with three binary-classifier support vector machines. First, it selects an optimal acoustic feature subset from the sound emitted by the laying hens. The detection and classification module detects the stress from changes in the sound and classifies it into subsidiary sound types, such as physical stress from changes in temperature, and mental stress from fear. Finally, an experimental evaluation was performed using real sound data from an audio-surveillance system. The accuracy in detecting stress approached 96.2%, and the classification model was validated, confirming that the average classification accuracy was 96.7%, and that its recall and precision measures were satisfactory.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.315-327
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• 2010

A vast increase of antibiotics usage in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) over the last few decades has led to an environmental risk due to the presence of antibiotic residuals in different environmental compartments. Especially in Korea, the use of antibiotics in CAFOs is much greater than in other developed countries. One of the primary adverse impacts of antibiotic residuals in the environment is that they readily produce antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), which exert detrimental effects on the ecosystem as well as human health. In this article, the impacts of veterinary antibiotic residuals with regard to their quantification and management, and desirable remediation technologies have been widely reviewed. This review article concluded that the continuous monitoring should be required to ensure the safety of antibiotic residuals in the surrounding environments. Furthermore, the management guidelines of antibiotic residuals need to be developed in the future.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2013

This study was conducted to examine the community structure of ground beetles between coniferous- and deciduous-dominant forest in agricultural landscapes, in Miryang-si, Yeongdong-gun, Icheon-si, and Cheolwon-gun during April to October in 2009. A total of 19 species belonging to 15 genera of 9 subfamilies were identified from 6,253 collected ground beetles. Dominant species from 4 regions were Synuchus nitidus (3,715 individuals, 59.4% of total) and Synuchus cyloderus (1,783 individuals, 28.5%) respectively. Non-metric multidimensional scaling based on Bray-Curtis similarity showed that ground beetle assemblage was not different between forest stands, but it was significantly different among regions. Overall, forest stands of secondary forests may not show a different community structure of ground beetle assemblages in our study. However, monitoring on the ground beetle fauna as well as other arthropods of secondary forests in agricultural landscapes is still important for the management and conservation of biodiversity, because forests provides important habitats for many predatory arthropods, such as ground beetles, spiders and rove beetles.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.432-439
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: An official analytical method was developed to determine etofenprox residues in agricultural commodities using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). METHODS AND RESULTS: The etofenprox residue was extracted with acetone from representative samples of five raw products which comprised rice grain, apple, mandarin, cabbage, and soybean. The extract was then serially purified by liquid-liquid partition and Florisil column chromatography. For rice and soybean samples, acetonitrile/n-hexane partition was additionally coupled to remove nonpolar lipids. Reversed phase HPLC using an octadecylsilyl column was successfully applied to separate etofenprox from co-extractives. Intact etofenprox was sensitively detected by ultraviolet absorption at 225 nm. Recovery experiment at the quantitation limit validated that the proposed method could apparently determine the etofenprox residue at 0.02 mg/kg. Mean recoveries from five crop samples fortified at three levels in triplicate were in the range of 93.6~106.4%. Relative standard deviations of the analytical method were all less than 10%, irrespective of crop types. A selected-ion monitoring LC/mass spectrometry with positive atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization was also provided to confirm the suspected residue. CONCLUSION(s): The proposed method is simple, rapid and sensitive enough to be employed in routine inspection or monitoring of agricultural products for the etofenprox residue.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.157-164
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• 2021

Smart agriculture requires sensing systems which are fundamental for precision agriculture. Adequate and appropriate water and nutrient supply not only improves crop productivity but also benefit to environment. However, there is no available soil sensor to continuously monitor nutrient status in soil. Electrical conductivity (EC) of soil is affected by ion contents in soil and can be used to evaluate nutrient contents in soil. Comparison of various commercial EC sensors showed similar water content and EC values at water content less than 20%. Soil EC values measured by sensors decreased with decreasing soil water content and linearly correlated with soil water content. EC values measured by soil sensor were highly correlated with water soluble nutrient contents such as Ca, K, Mg and N in soil indicating that the soil EC sensor can be used for monitoring changes in plant available nutrients in soil.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2022

Semiochemicals including pheromone are chemicals used in chemical communication of insect. Semiochemicals have been widely used for population monitoring, mass trapping, and mating disruption of insect pest. In this review article, the current status of pheromone research of major forest insect pest in Korea such as Monochamus alternauts, M. saltuarius, Matsucoccus thunbergianae, Platypus koryoensis, Glyphodes perspectalis, Dioryctria abietella, Lymantria dispar, Synanthedon bicingulata, and Naxa seriaria was introduced, and the results were compared with those reported in other countries. Based on the analysis of current pheromone research of forest insect pests, future studies and development direction was suggested.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is produced by chemical reactions between various precursors. PM_2.5 has been found to create greater human risk than particulate matter (PM₁₀), with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller. Ammonia (NH₃) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the sources of secondary generation of PM_2.5. These substances generate PM_2.5 through some chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Through chemical reactions in the atmosphere, NH₃ generates PM_2.5. It is the causative agent of PM_2.5. In 2017 the annual ammonia emission recorded from the agricultural sector was 244,335 tons, which accounted for about 79.3% of the total ammonia emission in Korea in that year. To address this issue, the agricultural sector announced the inclusion of reducing fine particulate matter and ammonia emissions by 30% in its targets for the year 2022. This may be achieved through analyses of its emission characteristics by monitoring the PM_2.5 and NH₃. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the PM_2.5 concentration was measured real-time (every 1 hour) by using beta radiation from the particle dust measuring device (Spirant BAM). NH₃ concentration was analyzed real-time by Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS). The concentrations of ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were continuously measured and analyzed for the masses collected on filter papers by ultraviolet photometry and chemiluminescence. CONCLUSION: This study established air pollutant monitoring system in agricultural areas to analyze the NH₃ emission characteristics. The amount of PM_2.5 and NH₃ emission in agriculture was measured. Scientific evidence in agricultural areas was obtained by identifying the emission concentration and characteristics per season (monthly) and per hour.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2020

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of most developing countries. In these countries, agriculture or farming is mostly done manually with little integration of machinery, intelligent systems and data monitoring. Irrigation is an essential process that directly influences crop production. The fluctuating amount of rainfall per year has led to the adoption of irrigation systems in most farms. The absence of smart sensors, monitoring methods and control, has led to low harvests and draining water sources. In this research paper, we introduce a 433 MHz Radio Frequency and 2G based Smart Irrigation Meter System and a water prepayment system for rural areas of Tanzania with no reliable internet coverage. Specifically, Ngurudoto area in Arusha region where it will be used as a case study for data collection. The proposed system is hybrid, comprising of both weather data (evapotranspiration) and soil moisture data. The architecture of the system has on-site weather measurement controllers, soil moisture sensors buried on the ground, water flow sensors, a solenoid valve, and a prepayment system. To achieve high precision in linear and nonlinear regression and to improve classification and prediction, this work cascades a Dynamic Regression Algorithm and Naïve Bayes algorithm.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.340-346
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• 2009

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is a chemical wood preservative that has been intensively used to protect wood from decay during the last few decades. CCA is widely used to build structures such as decks, fences, playgrounds and boardwalks. However, structures constructed of CCA-treated wood have caused adverse environmental effects due to leaching of Cr, Cu and As into surrounding soils. This research was conducted to monitor the vertical and horizontal distribution of Cr, Cu and As in soils adjacent to CCA-treated wood structures in Korea. Two structures constructed with CCA-treated wood were selected at Hongcheon and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, South Korea. Eleven soil profile samples were collected at depths of 0 to 80 cm at each site, while 12 surface soil samples were collected at distances of 0 to 200 cm from each structure. The soil chemical properties, soil particle size distribution and total metal concentrations were then determined. The results revealed that soils near CCA-treated wood structures were generally contaminated with Cr, Cu and As when compared to the background concentration of each metal. In addition, the concentrations of Cr, Cu and As in soils decreased as the vertical and horizontal distance from the structure increased. Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the mobility and distribution of these metals in the environment as well as to develop novel technologies for remediation of CCA contaminated soils.