• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.248-254
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• 2022

Background: Occupational hazards in crop farms vary diversely based on different field operations as soil management, harvesting processes, pesticide, or fertilizer application. We aimed at evaluating the immunological status of crop farmers, as limited systematic investigations on immune alteration involved with crop farming have been reported yet. Methods: Immunological parameters including plasma immunoglobulin level, major peripheral immune cells distribution, and level of cytokine production from activated T cell were conducted. Nineteen grape orchard, 48 onion open-field, and 21 rose greenhouse farmers were participated. Results: Significantly low proportion of natural killer (NK) cell, a core cell for innate immunity, was revealed in the grape farmers (19.8±3.3%) in comparison to the onion farmers (26.4±3.1%) and the rose farmers (26.9±2.5%), whereas cytotoxic T lymphocyte proportion was lower in the grape and the onion farmers than the rose farmers. The proportion of NKT cell, an immune cell implicated with allergic response, was significantly higher in the grape (2.3±0.3%) and the onion (1.6±0.8%) farmers compared with the rose farmers (1.0±0.4%). A significantly decreased interferon-gamma:interleukin-13 ratio was observed from ex vivo stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of grape farmers compared with the other two groups. The grape farmers revealed the lowest levels of plasma IgG1 and IgG4, and their plasma IgE level was not significantly different from that of the onion or the rose farmers. Conclusion: Our finding suggests the high vulnerability of workplace-mediated allergic immunity in grape orchard farmers followed by open-field onion farmers and then the rose greenhouse farmers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.57-57
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• 2022

In many areas of the world, salt damage and drought have had a negative impact on human survival due to a decrease in agricultural productivity. For instance, about 50% of agricultural land will be affected by salt damage by 2050. Biostimulants such as plant extracts can not only increase the nutrient utilization efficiency of plants, but also promote plant growth and increase resistance to abiotic or biotic stress. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine how selected plant extracts might reduce levels of stress caused by drought and salt and to better understand the physiological response mechanisms of rice plants. In this study, we used Soybean leaves, Soybean stems and Allium tuberosum, Allium cepa, Hizikia fusiforme, and Gracilaria verrucosa extracts were used. These extracts had been used in previous studies and were found to be effective. The materials were dried in a dry oven at 50℃ for 5 days and ground using a blender. Each 50 g of materials was put in 1 L of distilled water, stirred for 24 hours, filtered using 4 layers of mirocloth, and then concentrated using a concentrator. Rice (cv. Hopumbyeo) seeds were immersed and germinated, and then sown in seedbeds filled with commercial soil. In drought experiments, three rice seedlings at 1 week after seeding was transplanted into 100 ml cups filled with commercial soils and grown until the 4-leaf stage. For this experiment, the soil weight in a cup was equalized, and water was allowed to become 100% saturated and then drained for 24 hours. Thereafter, plant extracts at 3% concentrations were applied to the soils. For NaCl treatments, rice plants at 17 days after seeding were treated with either 100 mM NaCl or plant extracts at 1%+ 100 mM NaCl combinations in the growth chamber. Leaf injury, relative water content, photosynthetic efficiency, and chlorophyll contents were measured at 3, 5, and 6 days after treatments. Shoot fresh weight of rice under drought conditions increased 28-37% in response to treatments of Soybean leaf, Soybean stem, Allium tuberosum, Allium cepa, Hizikia fusiforme, and Gracilaria verrucosa extracts at 3% when compared with control plants. Shoot fresh weight of rice subjected to 100 mM NaCl treatments also increased by 6-24% in response to Soybean leaf, Soybean stem, Allium tuberosum, Allium cepa, Hizikia fusiforme, and Gracilaria verrucosa extracts at 3% when compared with control plants. Compared to the control, rice plants treated with these six extracts and subjected to drought conditions had significantly higher relative water content, Fv/Fm, total chlorophyll and total carotenoids than control plants. With the exception of relative water contents, rice plants treated with the six extracts and subjected to salt stress (100 mM NaCl treatments) had significantly higher Fv/Fm, total chlorophyll and total carotenoids than control plants. However, the type of extract used did not produce significant difference in these parameters. Thus, all the plant extracts used in this study could mitigate drought and NaCl stresses and could also contribute substantially to sustainable crop production.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.179-190
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• 1998

Prolactin (PRL) surge in cycling rats at proestrous afternoon has previously been reported as an inducer of apoptotic cell death of luteal cells. This death-inducing action of PRL seeins unusual, because PRL can he categorized as a cell-survival factor, if other known physiological functions of PRL are taken into account. In this study, the apoptotic action of PRL was assessed in cultured cells prepared from rat luteal tissue and underlying molecular /cellular mechanism of PRL-induced luteolysis was analyzed. The latest crop of corpora lutea (CLs) were enucleated from rat ovaries at 18:00 h on the proestrous day before the next ovulation. Donor rats were pretreated with CB154, a dopamine agonist, in order to he exempted from the endogenous PRL surge. The harvested GLs were dispersed and cultured with or without PRL (2$\mu$g /ml) for 24 or 48 h. An addition of PRL to the culture medium changed the parameters indicative of cell death via apoptosis: a decrease in cell viability (MTT) and an increase in chromatin condensation. Most of the DNA breakdown in nuclei induced by PRL occurred in steroidogenic cells which were identified by 3$\beta$-HSD activity staining, and the number of 3$\beta$-HSD-positivecells were significantly decreased. Interestingly, most of the cells with an apoptotic nucleus adhered to one or more intact and seemingly non-steroidogenic cells. Because the expression of Fas has heen shown to be abundant in murine ovary, and Fas is known to have an exact physiological role in occurrence of apoptotic cell death, the membrane form-Fas ligand (rnFasL) was quantified in the cell lysate. An addition of PRL increased expression of mFasL. Moreover, an addition of concanavalin A (ConA), a T-cell specific activator, in place of PRL, enhanced the apoptotic parameters. Cumulatively, the apoptotic PRL action was addressed to cells unknown than steroidogenic lute~ cells. The most prohable candidate for the direct target cells is Tcells in the luteal tissue that can express mFasL in response to PRL.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2004

A long-term growth simulation was performed at 99 land units in Yeoncheon county to test the potential adaptability of each land unit for growing soybean cultivars. The land units for soybean cultivation(CZU), each represented by a geographically referenced land patch, were selected based on land use, soil characteristics, and minimum arable land area. Monthly climatic normals for daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation, number of rain days and solar radiation were extracted for each CZU from digital climate models(DCM). The DCM grid cells falling within a same CZU were aggregated to make spatially explicit climatic normals relevant to the CZU. A daily weather dataset for 30 years was randomly generated from the monthly climatic normals of each CZU. Growth and development parameters of CROPGRO-soybean model suitable for 2 domestic soybean cultivars were derived from long-term field observations. Three foreign cultivars with well established parameters were also added to this study, representing maturity groups 3, 4, and 5. Each treatment was simulated with the randomly generated 30 years' daily weather data(from planting to physiological maturity) for 99 land units in Yeoncheon to simulate the growth and yield responses to the inter-annual climate variation. The same model was run with input data from the Crop Experiment Station in Suwon to obtain a 30 year normal performance of each cultivar, which was used as a "reference" for evaluation. Results were analyzed with respect to spatial and temporal variation in yield and maturity, and used to evaluate the suitability of each land unit for growing a specific cultivar. A computer program(MAPSOY) was written to help utilize the results in a decision-making procedure for agrotechnology transfer. transfer.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.450-460
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• 2020

The occurrence of exotic weeds and their influx into farmlands due to climate change poses many problems. Therefore, it is necessary to generate a prediction model for the occurrence pattern of these exotic weeds based on scientific evidence and devise prevention measures. The photosynthetic apparatus is known as the most temperature-sensitive component of a plant cell and its initial response to temperature stress is to inhibit the activation of photosystem II. This study investigated the potential of OJIP transients in assessing temperature stress in exotic weeds. The four exotic weeds currently flowing into Korean farmlands include Amaranthus spinosus, Conyza bonariensis, Crassocephalum crepidioides, and Amaranthus viridis. These weeds were treated at 5℃, 10℃, 15℃, 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 35℃, and 40℃ and the OJIP curves and JIP parameters were measured and analyzed. The results showed that heat and chilling stress affected the photosystem II(PSII) electron transport of A. spinosus, whereas C. crepidioides and A. viridis were more affected by high-temperature stress than by low-temperature stress. Lastly, C. bonariensis showed resistance to both high and low-temperature stress. The results of this study suggest that OJIP transients and JIP parameters can be used to analyze damage to the photosynthetic apparatus by temperature stress and that they can serve as sensitive indicators for the occurrence pattern of exotic weeds.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 1999

Vegetation canopy plays an important role in $CO_2$/$H_2$O exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere by controlling leaf stomata. In this study, rice (Oryza sativa L.), a staple crop in Asia was investigated to formulate its single leaf model of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were measured with a portable infrared gas analyzer system. Other plant and meteorological variables were also measured. To evaluate empirical constants in this biochemical leaf model, nonlinear least squares technique was used. The maximum catalytic activity of enzyme and the maximum rate of electron transport were $ 100\mu$㏖ $m^{-2}$ $s^{-1}$ and $140 \mu$㏖ m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ (@ 35$^{\circ}C$), respectively. The empirical constants, m and b, associated with stomatal conductance model were 9.7 and $0.06 m^{-2}$ $s^{-1}$ , respectively. On a leaf scale, agreements between the modeled and the measured values of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were on average within 20%, and the simulation of diurnal variation was also satisfactory On a canopy scale, the Simple Biosphere model(SiB2) was tested using the derived parameters. The modeled energy fluxes were compared against the micrometeorologically measured fluxes over a rice canopy. Agreements between the modeled and the measured values of net radiation, sensible heat and latent heat fluxes, and $CO_2$ flux (i.e., net canopy photosynthesis) were on average within 25%.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.493-500
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• 2014

This paper presents findings from the assessment of the volcanic ash fragility for multi-hazard resisting vinyl greenhouse and livestock shed among the agricultural facilities. The volcanic ash fragility was evaluated by using a combination of the FOSM (first-order second-moment) method, available statistics of volcanic load, facility specifications, and building code. In this study, the evaluated volcanic ash fragilities represent the conditional probability of failure of the agricultural facilities over the full range of volcanic ash loads. For the evaluation, 6 types(ie., 2 single span, 2 tree crop, and 2 double span types) of multi-hazard resisting vinyl greenhouses and 3 types(ie., standard, coast, and mountain types) of livestock sheds are considered. All volcanic ash fragilities estimated in this study were fitted by using parameters of the GEV(generalized extreme value) distribution function, and the obtained parameters were complied into a database to be used in future. The volcanic ash fragilities obtained in this study are planning to be used to evaluate risk by volcanic ash when Mt. Baekdu erupts.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2008

Jatropha curcas L. is an oil bearing species with many uses and considerable economic potential as a biofuel crop. Salt stress effect on growth, ion accumulation, contents of protein, proline and antioxidant enzymes activity was determined in callus and seedling to understand the salt tolerance of the species. Exposure of callus and seedling to salt stress reduced growth in a concentration dependent manner. Under salt stress Na content increased significantly in both callus and seedling whereas, differential accumulation in the contents of K, Ca, and Mg was observed in callus and seedling. Soluble protein content differed significantly in callus as compared to seedling, however proline accumulation remained more or less constant with treatments. The proline concentration was ~2 to 3 times more in callus than in seedling. Salt stress induced qualitative and quantitative differences in superoxide dismutase (SOD; E.C. 1.15.1.1) and peroxidase (POX; E.C. 1.11.1.7) in callus and seedling. Salt induced changes of the recorded parameters were discussed in relation to salinity tolerance.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.428-437
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• 2013

Physico-chemical water quality parameters and the phytoplankton communities from 12 sites in Oship-stream, Songchunstream, and Namdae-stream, located Gyeongsangbukdo Uljin-gun, Yeongdeok-gun, and Pyeonghae-eup respectively, were investigated from April 2009 to February 2010. Oship-stream, which is an open estuary, was easily affected by ocean current compared to that of Songchun-stream and Namdae-stream. OS3 and OS4 conductivity was higher with a season average of 3,397 ${\mu}s/cm$. The streams were mesotrophic to hypertrophic. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) was about 3mg/L, which was level 2 on the water quality ratings, but a concentration of 5mg/L in April 2009 indicated increased pollution due to drought. A total of 118, 117, and 124 phytoplankton taxa were found in Oship-stream, Songchun-stream, and Namdae-stream, respectively. The apparent dominant species in the polluted waters included Cryptomonas ovata, Fragilaria construens var. venter, Oscillatoria limnetica, O. limosa, and Phormidium tenue. All of Oship-stream, SC2 and SC4 of Songchun-stream, and ND3 of Namdae-stream were eutrophic as a result of standing crop analysis. BOD was highly correlated with chlorophyll-a content(r=0.52). Phosphorus concentration and proliferation of phytoplankton were thought to most affect BOD concentration in all three streams.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.221-228
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• 2001

Chemical application, one of the most important crop management processes happened to cause spray drift, that would threaten farmers in field as well as dwellers in rural region. Spray drift was affected by micro-meteorological parameters. A study to evaluate short distance drift characteristics of a boom sprayer in paddy fields has been undergoing. This study is the first step of the research. Main purpose of the was conducted to develop a mean wind profile and to get information on turbulence intensities above and within rice canopy. Wind in rice paddy field were measured at every 10cm from 10 to 180cm above the ground using a 2-dimensional probe and a hot wire anemometer system. Main results were summarized as follows. 1. Mean wind profile was modeled as; Equations. see full-text 2. Roughness length and zero-displacement in rice canopy were analyzed to be respectively 0.04 and 0.7∼0.72 times of the canopy height. The values are smaller comparing to those of other crops because rice canopy is flexible and uniform comparing to other crops. 3. Turbulence intensities (Tl) was greater as close to the ground and became constant at heights greater than 1.5Hc. where Tl’s were 0.4 and 0.15 in horizontal and vertical direction respectively.