• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.4
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• pp.476-487
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• 2001

In this study, three tree species (Populus euramericana, Kalopanax pictus and Quercus serrata) exhibiting different levels of shade tolerance were employed to investigate photosynthetic responses to the lower light condition on forest floors. Chlorophyll contents, spectral properties and photosynthetic characteristics were examined by using the tree species grown under high light intensity (PPFD $920{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$) or low light intensity (PPFD $80{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$). Plants grown under the low light intensity tended to have reduced leaf area, chlorophyll content per unit leaf area, light absorption and respiration in the shade intolerant tree species of P. euramericana. However, the shade tolerant species K. pictus and Q. serrata showed increased leaf area, chlorophyll content and net apparent quantum yield. Therefore, light absorption and light utilization efficiency were improved under the low light intensity. Also shade tolerant species maintained activities of photosystems and $CO_2$ fixation systems with little changes in low light intensity condition.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2020

Astragalus uliginosus L.-stems as a by-product of oriental medicine are produced largely in a northern area of Chungbuk province. These by-products do not have any demand and thus usually discarded into the fields as a waste. In this work, a biochar was prepared from the Astragalus uliginosus L.-stem waste for recycling. The biochar was used to investigate the removal characteristics of cadmium and manganese ions dissolved in water. When adsorption equilibrium experiments were performed to treat 50 and 100 mg/L of cadmium ions, the removal efficiencies of cadmium were 100 and 95%, respectively. In addition, the maximum of adsorption amount for manganese ions in 5 h at an initial concentration of 50 and 100 mg/L was found to be as 36.1 and 37.9 mg/g, respectively. Based on the experimental results, it was found that the adsorption amount of Astragalus uliginosus L.-stem biochar for the removal of both cadmium and manganese ions was four times higher than that of the activated carbon. The surface analysis of both biochar and activated carbon samples using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the oxygen content and O/C ratio of biochar was 2.1 and 2.4 times higher than that of the activated carbon, respectively. In order to enhance the removal capability of manganese, 50 and 100 mg/L of manganese ions were operated at different temperatures. It was observed that these equilibrium was attained in 4 h under 45 ℃ and removal efficiencies were 92 and 53%, respectively. Consequently, the experimental results can be utilized as a new removal technology for eco-friendly and economically treating cadmium and manganese ions dissolved in water.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.406-425
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• 2010

The flora for resource plants in Hapcheon-gun were investigated 10 times from March to October, 2009. Based on collected voucher specimens, the flora of this area consisted of 489 taxa in total; 82 families, 292 genera, 427 species, 4 subspecies, 49 varieties and 9 forms. The resources plants in the area were categorized by usage into 9 groups including an unknown group: 187 edible, 126 pasturing, 137 medicinal, 112 dyeing, 52 ornamental, 16 timber, 9 fiber, 2 industrial taxa and 134 unknown resource plants were recorded respectively. In addition, there were 18 taxa of Korean endemic plants, 33 taxa of specific plants which were designated by the Ministry of Environment, and 2 taxa of rare plants. Furthermore, 44 taxa of naturalized plants were observed in this investigated area. The vegetation status of the investigated area was well conserved, but it is likely that the contaminated area could be rapidly increased and exacerbated by the climbers and development of forest roads. Therefore, the systems for conservation need to be prepared for the effective management of forests, and there must be special rules to control the number of climbers and visitors.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.487-492
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• 2010

This study was conducted to analyze the home range size of Pipistrellus abramus in non-reproductive season. The survey was conducted in the day-roosting site of Pipistrellus abramus located in Gyeongju City(North Gyeongsang Province). We radio-tracked six Pipistrellus abramus(male 3, female 3) and LTM single stage radio transmitter(0.38g), R2000 ATS receiver, three element yagi antenna, roof mounted antenna and ArcGIS 3.3(ESRI, Animal Movement Extension 2.0) were used to locate bats and home range analyze. The home range sizes of the 6 radio-tracked Pipistrellus abramus ranged from 8.97 to 19.07ha(Maen $14.46{\pm}3.44ha$). Mean home range size of female($16.83{\pm}1.96ha$) was larger than that of male($12.08{\pm}2.96ha$) but there were no significant differences in home range sizes between male and female(t=2.32, p>0.05). Also, mean maximum distances from the roost was $468.73{\pm}94.38m$ but there were no significant differences between sexes(female, $422.73{\pm}10.38m$; male, $514.74{\pm}125.74m$; t=-1.26, p>0.05).

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 2016

In this research, a pilot scale hybrid rain garden system was developed in order to investigate the efficiency in the different components of the hybrid rain garden system and at the same time evaluate the initial efficiency of the system in treating urban stormwater runoff prior to its actual use in the field. Experimental runs were conducted using synthetic runoff having target concentrations similar to that of the typical runoff characteristics found in different countries and in Korea. With the employment of the hybrid rain garden system, hydrologic improvement was observed as the system demonstrates an approximately 95% reduction in the influent runoff volume with 80% retained in the system, and 15% recharged to groundwater. The reduction was contributed by the retention capabilities of ST and infiltration capabilities in PB and IT. With the combined mechanisms such as filtration-infiltration, biological uptake from plants and soil and phytoremediation that are incorporated in PB and IT, the system effectively reduces the amount of pollutant concentration wherein the initial mean removal efficiency for TSS is 87%, while an approximate mean removal efficiency of 76%, 46% and 56% was observed in terms of organics, nutrients and heavy metal, respectively. With these findings, the research helps in the further improvement, innovation and optimization of rain garden systems and other facilities as well.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2015

Background: Anticancer agents induce a variety of adverse effects when administered to cancer patients. Busulfan is a known antileukemia agent. When administered for treatment of leukemia in young patients, busulfan could cause damage to the male reproductive system as one of its adverse effects, resulting in sterility. Methods: We investigated the effects of Korean Red Ginseng extract (KRGE) on busulfan-induced damage and/or dysfunction of the male reproductive system. Results: We found that administration of busulfan to mice: decreased testis weight; caused testicular histological damage; reduced the total number of sperm, sperm motility, serum testosterone concentration; and eventually, litter size. Preadministration of KRGE partially attenuated various busulfan-induced damages to the male reproductive system. These results indicate that KRGE has a protective effect against busulfan-induced damage to the male reproduction system. Conclusion: The present study shows a possibility that KRGE could be applied as a useful agent to prevent or protect the male reproductive system from the adverse side effects induced by administration of anticancer agents such as busulfan.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1169-1175
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• 2015

Although many studies have described the physiological effects of bee products, such as honey, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly, the health benefits of honeycomb remain incompletely characterized. We performed a comparative study of the antioxidant properties of honey and honeycomb extracts using two different solvents (water and 95% ethanol). The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the honeycomb extract was higher than that of the honey extract. They also demonstrated that water was more effective than ethanol in extracting total phenols. The in vitro antioxidant properties of the water honeycomb extract were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO^•) radical scavenging assays and ferrous ion chelating and reducing power assays. The antioxidant activity of the honeycomb extract exhibited was higher than that of the honey extract. The 50% effective concentrations (EC₅₀) of the honeycomb extract were 7.3±0.26 mg/ml for scavenging DPPH radicals, 6.1±0.22 mg/ml for scavenging NO^• radicals, 6.9±0.44 mg/ml for chelating ferrous ions, and 8.2±0.11 mg/ml for reducing power. A correlation analysis revealed that the total phenolics and flavonoids of the honeycomb extract were the major contributors to the radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion chelating, and reducing power. The honeycomb extract was effective in protecting biological systems against various oxidative stresses in vitro. This is the first report on the antioxidant properties of honeycomb.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2010

Our study aims to understand the flow of liquid in an open-top rectangular microchannel that can be used in micro total analysis systems ($\mu$-TAS) because it has advantages in terms of light transmission and energy efficiency. We measured the liquid velocity using particle tracking technique and conducted a simulation with computational fluid dynamics by altering the area of channel cross section and channel length for the capillary-driven flow in the open-top rectangular microchannel. When liquid water drops to an entrance of the fabricated microchannel with a height of 20 μm and a width of 20 ${\mu}m$, it flows along the microchannel by only capillary force. In the wetting behavior of the liquid, important parameters of this flow are channel size, contact angle and liquid properties such as surface tension and viscosity, which are used to control the flow of liquid in the microchannel.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.218-224
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• 2009

In organic fanning systems, integration of cover crops into cropping system are recommended to improve the soil quality, to prevent soil erosion, and to provide biological control of weeds. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the optimal seeding dates of major cover crops. To know optimal seeding dates, crimson clover, alfalfa, rye and hairy vetch were sown on 20. Sep., 27. Sep., 4. Oct., 11. Oct., 18. Oct., 25. Oct. Rye could germinate and grow well in all the tested sowing dates. Hence, it was concluded that the sowing of rye could be conducted later in fall or more earlier in spring than any other cover crops tested in this study. Growth and ground covering capacity were significantly decreased by late sowing in alfalfa and crimson clover. For safe overwintering, alfalfa and crimson clover should be sown before late September. Similarly, field emergence of hairy vetch was found to be sensitive to soil temperature, however, its growth and ground covering capacity after overwintering was enough to compensate the delay in sowing. Germination tests in laboratory revealed that hairy vetch grew faster at $25^{\circ}C$ compared to $20^{\circ}C$. The result suggested that germination and growth rate of hairy vetch was rapidly decreased at low temperature. Therefore, it is recommended that hairy vetch should be sown as soon as possible in September for improving stand establishment after overwintering.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2007

In all female mammals, reproductive system is one of the first biological systems to show age-related decline. Female mammals in reproductive aging, though the phenomena is somewhat species-specific, start to show declining fertility and changes of numerous physiological functions. This review will present a current information on the aging of the female reproductive hormonal axis and introduce three useful rodent models for studying this field. Middle age($8{\sim}12$ months old) in female rats and mice is comparable to the stage prior to the entry of menopause in human. In this period pulsatile and surge GnRH secretion from hypothalamus gradually attenuated, then reduced pulsatile and surge LH secretion is followed consequently. This age-related defects in GnRH-LH neuroendocrine axis seem to be highly correlated with the defects in brain signals which modulate the activities of GnRH neuron. Many researchers support the idea which the age-related hypothalamic defects are the main cause of reproductive aging, but some ovarian factors such as inhibin response also could contribute to the induction of reproductive senescence. Some rodent models are quite valuable in studying the reproductive aging. The follitropin receptor knockout(FORKO) mice, both of null and haploinsufficient state, could produce depletion of oocyte/follicle with age. Dioxin/aryl hydrocarbon receptor(AhR) knockout mice also show severe ovarian defects and poor reproductive success early in their life compared to the age-matched normal mice. Further studies on the reproductive aging will be a great help to evaluate the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy(HRT) and to improve the safety of HRT.