• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.682-697
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Tibetan tea is a kind of dark tea, due to the inherent complexity of natural products, the chemical composition and beneficial effects of Tibetan tea are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to unravel the composition of Tibetan tea using knowledge-guided multilayer network (KGMN) techniques and explore its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms in mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: The C57BL/6J mice were continuously gavaged with Tibetan tea extract (T group), green tea extract (G group) and ddH2O (H group) for 15 days. The activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mice was detected. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects of Tibetan tea in mice. Furthermore, the expression levels of liver antioxidant and lipid metabolism related genes in various groups were detected by the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. RESULTS: The results showed that a total of 42 flavonoids are provisionally annotated in Tibetan tea using KGMN strategies. Tibetan tea significantly reduced body weight gain and increased T-AOC and SOD activities in mice compared with the H group. Based on the results of transcriptome and qPCR, it was confirmed that Tibetan tea could play a key role in antioxidant and lipid lowering by regulating oxidative stress and lipid metabolism related pathways such as insulin resistance, P53 signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, fatty acid elongation and fatty acid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to use computational tools to deeply explore the composition of Tibetan tea and revealed its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms, and it provides new insights into the composition and bioactivity of Tibetan tea.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.99-108
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• 2017

It is Lespedeza cuneata. G. don used as a remedy for cough, asthma, premature ejaculation and so on, though it has been used for a long time. In order to investigate the possibility of using Lespedeza cuneata. G. don as a raw material for functional food, we examined useful substances through analysis. In the study, 124 useful substances were analyzed and 84 of them were found to be functional. In 6 species, 6 of them were found to be functional and 5 of them were functional. In the present study, the other useful substance, D-pinitol, also confirmed its functionality. Potassium isolespedezate and Potassium lespedezate act as antibiotics, Trifolin acts as an antibiotic and hepatoprotectant, and Vitexin acts as a hepatoprotectant. D-pinitol has shown excellent efficacy in patients with prediabetic and insulin-resistant diabetes. As it contains a large amount of useful substances, it can be utilized as a highly functional food.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.297-303
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• 2024

In this study, KTN heterolayer thin films were fabricated by alternately stacking films of K(Ta_0.70Nb_0.30)O₃ and K(Ta_0.55Nb_0.45)O₃ synthesized using the sol-gel method. The sintering temperature and time were 750℃ and 1 hour, respectively. All specimens exhibited a polycrystalline pseudo-cubic crystal structure, with a lattice constant of approximately 0.398 nm. The average grain size was around 130~150 nm, indicating relatively uniform sizes regardless of the number of coatings. The average thickness of a single-coated film was approximately 70 nm. The phase transition temperature of the KTN heterolayer films was found to be approximately 8~12℃. Moreover, the 6-coated KTN heterolayer film displayed an excellent dielectric constant of about 11,000. As the number of coatings increased, and consequently the film thickness, the remanent polarization increased, while the coercive field decreased. The 6-coated KTN heterolayer film exhibited a remanent polarization and coercive field of 11.4 μC/cm² and 69.3 kV/cm at room temperature, respectively. ΔT showed the highest value at a temperature slightly above the Curie temperature, and for the 6-coated KTN heterolayer film, the ΔT and ΔT/ΔE were approximately 1.93 K and 0.128×10^-6 K·m/V around 40℃, respectively.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.15-42
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• 2024

A flexible-base coupled-two-beam (CTB) discrete model with equivalent tuned mass dampers is used to assess the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) and different types of lateral resisting systems on the design of passive dynamic absorbers (PDAs) under the action of along-wind and across-wind loads due to vortex shedding. A total of five different PDAs are considered in this study: (1) tuned mass damper (TMD), (2) circular tuned sloshing damper (C-TSD), (3) rectangular tuned sloshing damper (R-TSD), (4) two-way liquid damper (TWLD) and (5) pendulum tuned mass damper (PTMD). By modifying the non-dimensional lateral stiffness ratio, the CTB model can consider lateral deformations varying from those of a flexural cantilever beam to those of a shear cantilever beam. The Monte Carlo simulation method was used to generate along-wind and across-wind loads correlated along the height of a real shear wall-frame building, which has similar fundamental periods of vibration and different modes of lateral deformation in the xz and yz planes, respectively. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on the building to identify its real lateral behavior and thus choose the most suitable parameters for the CTB model. Both alongwind and across-wind responses of the 144-meter-tall building were computed considering four soil types (hard rock, dense soil, stiff soil and soft soil) and a single PDA on its top, that is, 96 time-history analyses were carried out to assess the effect of SSI and lateral resisting system on the PDAs design. Based on the parametric analyses, the response significantly increases as the soil flexibility increases for both type of lateral wind loads, particularly for flexural-type deformations. The results show a great effectiveness of PDAs in controlling across-wind peak displacements and both along-wind and across-wind RMS accelerations, on the contrary, PDAs were ineffective in controlling along-wind peak displacements on all soil types and different kind of lateral deformation. Generally speaking, the maximum possible value of the PDA mass efficiency index increases as the soil flexibility increases, on the contrary, it decreases as the non-dimensional lateral stiffness ratio of the building increases; therefore, there is a significant increase of the vibration control effectiveness of PDAs for lateral flexural-type deformations on soft soils.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.1345-1354
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• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify candidate genes that play important roles in skeletal muscle development in ducks. Methods: In this study, we investigated the transcriptional sequencing of embryonic pectoral muscles from two specialized lines: Liancheng white ducks (female) and Cherry valley ducks (male) hybrid Line A (LCA) and Line C (LCC) ducks. In addition, prediction of target genes for the differentially expressed mRNAs was conducted and the enriched gene ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes signaling pathways were further analyzed. Finally, a protein-to-protein interaction network was analyzed by using the target genes to gain insights into their potential functional association. Results: A total of 1,428 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with 762 being up-regulated genes and 666 being down-regulated genes in pectoral muscle of LCA and LCC ducks identified by RNA-seq (p<0.05). Meanwhile, 23 GO terms in the down-regulated genes and 75 GO terms in up-regulated genes were significantly enriched (p<0.05). Furthermore, the top 5 most enriched pathways were ECM-receptor interaction, fatty acid degradation, pyruvate degradation, PPAR signaling pathway, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. Finally, the candidate genes including integrin b3 (Itgb3), pyruvate kinase M1/2 (Pkm), insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf1), glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (Gpi), GABA type A receptor-associated protein-like 1 (Gabarapl1), and thyroid hormone receptor beta (Thrb) showed the most expression difference, and then were selected to verification by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The result of qRT-PCR was consistent with that of transcriptome sequencing. Conclusion: This study provided information of molecular mechanisms underlying the developmental differences in skeletal muscles between specialized duck lines.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2024

Objectives: Direct reading instruments (DRIs) are widely used by industrial hygienists and other experts for preliminary survey and identifying source locations in many industrial fields. Photoionization detectors (PIDs), which are a form of hand-held portable DRIs, have been used for a variety of airborne vaporized chemicals, especially evaporated hydrocarbon solvents. The benefits of PIDs are high sensitivity between each chemical, competitive price, and portability. With the goal of increasing the accuracy of logged PID concentrations, previous studies have performed tests for the assessment of single chemical compounds, not mixtures. The purpose of this preliminary study was to measure mixtures with a PID and charcoal tube at the same time and compare the accuracy between them. Methods: A chamber test was implemented with different mixtures of hydrocarbon chemicals (acetone, isopropyl alcohol, toluene, m-xylene) and levels in the range of 14 to 864 ppm. Three PIDs and charcoal tubes were connected to the chamber and measured the chemical mixtures simultaneously. A comparison of accuracy and the PID group of concentrations with manufacture correction factor (M_CF) and field correction factor (F_CF) applied was performed. Results: The accuracy of the PID concentrations data-logged from the PID did not meet the accuracy criteria except for the mixture level B and C logged from PID No. 2, which was 18% of all tests for meeting accuracy criteria. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of concentration (ppm) of the charcoal tube followed by each mixtures' level were 10.37±0.26, 155.33±5.28, 300.80±11.65, and 774.93±22.65, respectively. When applying F_CF into the PID concentrations, the accuracy increased by nearly 82%. However, in the case of M_CF, none met the accuracy criterion. Between the PID there were differences of logged concentrations. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, the concentration of a logged PID with F_CF applied was a better way to increase accuracy compared to applying M_CF. We suggest that additional research is necessary to consider environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.85-97
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• 2024

Objectives: This study was intended to investigate the revision status of the occupational exposure standards for aluminum at home and abroad; to investigate worker exposure at domestic aluminum manufacturing and handling workplaces; to conduct social and economic evaluation for the revision of domestic aluminum exposure limits. Methods: We investigated the current status of occupational exposure limits for aluminum at home and abroad, and analyzed supporting data. An exposure survey was conducted targeting domestic aluminum manufacturing and handling workplaces. Based on these, revised aluminum occupational exposure limits were proposed. Results: The major aluminum exposure limits at home and abroad show a notable difference. The toxicity of aluminum, which was revealed through animal experiments and epidemiological investigations. The average concentration of aluminum in the air at 12 workplaces was 0.016 mg/m³, and the maximum was 0.0776 mg/m³. When total dust and respiratory dust were measured side by side and simultaneously for the same process, 12.1% of the total mass concentration of aluminum dust was respiratory dust. As a result of measuring and comparing the size distribution of dust with an optical particle counter in real time, 48.1% of the total dust in the form of welding fume and pyro-powder was respiratory dust. Based on the literature review and workplace survey, three proposals for changing the aluminum exposure limit were proposed. Proposal (1): For all types, 10 mg/m³ is unified as the exposure limit except for soluble salts and alkyls. Proposal (2): 1(R) mg/m³ as the exposure limit for all forms except soluble salts and alkyl. Proposal (3): 1(R) mg/m³ for pyro-powder and welding fume, and 10 mg/m³ for metal dust, aluminum oxide, and insoluble compounds as exposure standards. A pyro-powder was defined as dry aluminum powder of 200 mesh size (74 ㎛) or smaller (larger size classified as metal dust). Reason for setting: In the workplace survey, the ratio of respiratory dust to total dust was analyzed to be about 1:10, so it was judged that the domestic standard and the ACGIH standard were compatible. Conclusions: In all scenarios according to the revision of the exposure standard, the B/C ratio was greater than 1 or only benefits existed, so it was evaluated as sufficiently reasonable as a result of the socio-economic evaluation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2010

We have researched the changes in nutrient content in each phase of fermentation in crops treated with liquefied pig fertilizer, and have determined the best method for applying livestock excrement to cultured crops. In the execution of this experiment, rice was cultivated to full maturity at a paddy field in Jeollabuk-Do Agriculture Research and Extension Services(Jeon-buk series) from 2007 to 2008. The rice plant nitrogen absorption quantity change, according to the growth stages of the cultivated rice, was 20.3% in the rice treated with the liquid pig manure and 22.2% the chemical fertilizer at highest congelation. The chemical fertilizer showed a higher absorption quantity than the liquid manure compost. The nitrogen density at highest congelation was 1.5% in the chemical fertilizer, and 1.8% in the pig manure liquid compost not a significant difference. The stem height at harvest time was 73.8 cm in the crops treated with the liquid pig manure compost. Those treated with the chemical fertilizer, yielded a height of 4.2 cm less than the crops treated with the liquid pig manure compost. The yield was 507 kg/10a in the liquid pig manure compost treated rice, compared with the chemical fertilizer, which showed a value of 1.2% lower. The protein content was 6.3% in the rice treated with the chemical fertilizer, but 6.4% in the rice treated with the liquid pig manure compost. This is not a significant difference. However, the lodging rice plant treated with the chemical fertilizer control showed a protein content of 6.8%, which was even higher than the normal rice. The head rice ratio in the brown rice and the polished rice ended up to be lower in the crop treated with the liquid pig manure than that treated with the chemical fertilizer, Quality, the palatability value, was similar in both groups. The above result indicate that, the effect of liquid pig manure compost corresponds to the effect of chemical fertilizer, when each are scattered uniformly.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.224-230
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• 1981

Threshing forces of seven varieties, that is, three Japonica type varieties-Irri 348, Irri 345, and Milyang 15, and four Indica type varieties-Milyang 23, Irri 342, Suweon 294 and Suweon 287-, which have been cultivated in the standard fertilization field being at Chungnam Provincial Office of Rural Development, Youseong, Chungnam-do, they were measured every other day in the period from September 28 to October 20 which were included the proper harves ting time. Also the threshing forces were checked in three-dimensional directions. Relationships between threshing forces and moisture contents of the unthreshed rice were examined in the laboratory as dried in the natural condition. The results of this study were as follows; 1. The mean threshing force of Japonica type varieties was about 1969r. and that of Indica type varieties was about 113gr. when external force was loaded in the direction parallel to the grain. 2. The threshing force bent to the grain was about 9.8through 28.2gr. equal to 7 through 21 percent to the threshing force parallel to the grain in Indica type varieties meanwhile about 59.8 through 115.0gr equal to 33 through 50 percent in Japonica type varieties. 3. Under the warmer temperature than $0^{\circ}C$, the change of threshing forces was not great in this experimental period on the harvesting dates. 4. The threshing force decreased s lightly as moisture content decreased in natural drying under the shade after cutting. 5. The threshing force of the lower portion was a little biger than that of the upper portion in an ear.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2005

This study is a part of research that development of effective genetic resources preservation system using the in vitro spermatogenesis, in vitro insemination and culture system. We aimed for establishment of in vitro culture system with in vitro activated porcine oocytes. The porcine oocytes were matured for 48 hours in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS and activated with $7\%$ ethanol. The activated oocytes were cultured for 7 days in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS or $NCSU23+0.4\%$ BSA medium. The activated oocytes were not developed to the blastocyst stage in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS medium. However in $NCSU23+0.4\%$ medium, those were developed to blastocyst with $3\%$ of treated oocytes. We extended maturation duration of porcine follicular oocytes fur 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, and 72 hours and activated with $7\%$ ethanol and cultured using $NCSU23+0.4\%$ BSA medium. The six percents of activated oocytes were developed to blastocyst in 48 hours and $10\%$ in 52 hours with comparatively low rates suggested to be not fully activated by regenerated MPF. Maturation durations from 56 hours to 68 hours supported to develop upto $11.9\~18.3\%$ of blastocysts. However the developmental rate was declined to $7.2\%$ at 72 hours of maturation duration because of cytoplasmic deterioration. The assumed time window for activation will be $56\~68$ hours of maturation duration. When the matured oocytes were activated with electric pulse of 1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0kV/cm for $80{\mu}s$, although appling the electric current once was not enough for activation, appling twice with 1.6kV/cm for $80{\mu}s$ was shown the highest developmental rate with $11.3\%$. When those were compared with activating methods, $15.7%$ of blastocyst rate was obtained in the $7\%$ ethanol. That was higher than those in electric pulse with $9.5\%$ and calcium ionophore method with $5.8\%$. In this experimental condition, the $7\%$ ethanol treatment was the most effective method for activating porcine oocytes.