• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.224-232
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• 2008

The health benefits associated with tea consumption have resulted in the wide inclusion of green tea extracts in botanical dietary supplements, which are widely consumed as adjuvants for complementary and alternative medicines. Tea contains polyphenols such as catechins or flavan-3-ols including (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), as well as the alkaloid, caffeine. The contents of catechins and caffeine in green tea are considered as a standard of quality evaluation of green tea. Therefor, the purpose of this study was to investigate the most suitable HPLC condition for simultaneous determination of catechins and caffeine in green tea extracts. The efficient HPLC analytical condition of catechins and caffeine contained green tea extracts was developed. The gradient elution employed a $250\;mm\;{\times}\;4.6\;mm$ i.d. YMC-pak ODS-AM 303 column. The gradient system was used two mobile phases. A gradient elution was performed with mobile phase A, consisting of 0.1% aqueous phosphoric acid, and mobile phase B, comprising 100% MeOH, and delivered at a flow rate of 1 mL/min as follows: $0{\sim}25\;min$, 80% A; $26{\sim}50\;min$, $80{\sim}70%$ A; 51 min, 80% A. $51{\sim}55\;min$, 80% A. The UV detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. The limit of detection (LOD) for catechins and caffeine standards were under 50 ng/mL.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.371-379
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• 2001

The objective of this study was to establish an effective cryopreservation method of in vitro-produced bovine embryos. For the vitrification, in virtro-produced embryos at 8-cell, morula and blastocyst stages were exposed to freezing solution containing 5.5 M EG (EG 5.5) for 20 sec, loaded on each containers such as EM grid, OPS and Cryo-loop, and then immediately plunged into liquid nitrogen at -196$^{\circ}C$. Thawed embryos were serially diluted in 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125 M sucrose in m-HPBS, each for 1 min, and cultured in CRlaa medium supplemented with 10% FBS. Significant differences in the rates of re-expanded and hatched embryos were not observed among these embryo containers. The total cell number of expanded blastocyst cultured in vitro after vitrification was examined by Hoechst staining. There were no differences between non-vitrified (180.0 $\pm$ 5.4) and vitrified groups (178.0 $\pm$ 7.5). In addition, when the cellular injuries after vitrification were compared by double staining. There were no significant difference in the ratio of live and dead cells between non-vitrified group (176 : 4) and vitrified group (172 : 6). Therefore, these results suggest that bovine embryos can be cryopreserved easily, effectively and successfully by vitrification using various containers, such as EM grid, OPS or Cryo-loop in the presence of EG 5.5 freezing solution.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.355-358
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: Changes in Korea's agricultural soil properties were analyzed at a four-year interval from 1999 to 2002 on a national scale and used as basis for the determination of the appropriate agricultural policy on maintaining food safety and soil quality. The scope of this study ideally requires sampling thousands of paddy, greenhouse, upland and orchard land across the country, however, due to limitations in economic and manpower resources, it was deemed necessary to reduce sampling site to greenhouse soil. In this study, we try to investigate the applicability of cultivated crops as criteria for selecting representing fields in greenhouse soils.METHODS AND RESULTS: Soil samples were collected from red pepper, oriental melon, watermelon and strawberry cultivated soil. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on soil chemical properties of the selected fields: pH, electron conductivity (EC), available phosphate (Av-P₂O₅), organic matter (OM), and exchangeable cation (Ex.-K, Ca, and Mg). Soil chemical properties of oriental melon cultivated soil was separated from red pepper, watermelon, and strawberry cultivated soil on PC1 and red pepper cultivated soil was separated from watermelon cultivated soil on PC2. Position on PC1 was strongly correlated with pH, Ex.-Ca and Ex.-Mg and position on PC2 was strongly correlated with OM and Av-P₂O₅.CONCLUSION: The soil chemical properties of greenhouse soil was assorted amongst the different crops. Therefore, the cultivated crops as a criteria for the selection of representative field in greenhouse soil would be used in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: The urgency of feeding the world's growing population while combating soil pollution, salinization and desertification requires suitable biotechnology not only to improve crop productivity but also to improve soil health through interactions of soil nutrient and soil microorganism. Interest in the utilization of microbial fertilizer has increased. A principle of nature farming is to produce abundant and healthy crops without using chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and without interrupting the natural ecosystem. Beneficial microorganisms may provide supplemental nutrients in the soil, promote crop growth, and enhance plant resistance against pathogenic microorganisms. We mixed beneficial microorganisms such as Bacillus sp. Han-5 with anti-fungal activities, Trichoderma harziaum, Trichoderma longibrachiatum with organic material degrading activity, Actinomycetes bovis with antibiotic production and Pseudomonas sp. with nitrogen fixation. This study was carried out to investigate the mixtures on the soil microflora and soil chemical properties and the effect on the growth of lettuce and cucumber under greenhouse conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: The microbial mixtures were used with each of organic fertilizer, swine manure and organic+swine manure and compared in regard to changes in soil chemical properties, soil microflora properties and crop growth. At 50 days after the treatment of microorganism mixtures, the pH improved from 5.8 to 6.3, and the EC, $NO_3$-Na and K decreased by 52.4%, 60.5% and 29.3%, respectively. The available $P_2O_5$ and $SiO_2$ increased by 25.9% and 21.2%, respectively. Otherwise, the population density of fluorescent Pseudomonas sp. was accelerated and the growth of vegetables increased. Moreover, the population density of E. coli and Fusarium sp., decreased remarkably. The ratio of bacteria to fungi (B/F) and the ratio of Actinomycetes bovis to fungi (A/F) increased 2.3 (from 272.2 to 624.4) and 1.7 times (from 38.3 to 64), respectively. Furthermore, the growth and yield of cucumber and lettuce significantly increased by the treatment of microorganism mixtures. CONCLUSION(S): These results suggest that the treatment of microorganism mixtures improved the chemical properties and the microflora of soil and the crop growth. Therefore, it is concluded that the microorganism mixtures could be good alternative soil amendments to restore soil nutrients and soil microflora.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.719-722
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• 2011

The Daecha-12 and Yabukita varieties of powdered green teas were grown under 85% shade-cultivated condition, and their physicochemical properties were analyzed. Total catechin content was not significantly different but, non-gallated catechin content in Daecha-12 was significantly higher than that in Yabukita. Theanine (32%), caffeine (14%), lutein (15%) and total chlorophyll (28%) levels were significantly higher in Daecha-12 than those in Yabukita. The results of a color analysis showed that the lightness L-value of Yabukita was higher than that of Daecha-12 but, that the greenness negative a-value and b-values of Daecha-12 were higher than those of Yabukita. The Daecha-12 cultivar had lower catechin content but higher content of theanine, caffeine, theobromine, lutein, chlorophyll, and a negative a-value than those of the Yabukita cultivar. Thus, the Daecha-12 cultivar is suitable to prepare a high-quality powdered green tea product.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.742-746
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• 1999

Contents of mineral element and cytokinin in the xylem sap of 'Keumdongee' and 'Tongilhwang' oriental melons were compared with those in oriental melons grafted onto 8 rootstocks. The effect of grafting on the fruit quality of oriental melon was also investigated. Flesh firmness varied with rootstocks. Soluble solids contents in the placenta tissue of grafted 'Tongilhwang' were higher than that in the 'Keumdongee'. Electric conductivity of the xylem sap in own-rooted plants was higher in 'Keumdongee' than in 'Tongilhwang', but it increased in 'Tongilhwang' once they were grafted. The sap volume per plant was greater in 'Keumdongee' than in 'Tongilhwang'. The mineral concentrations varied considerably depending on the rootstock used. Xylem sap of grafted oriental melons contained a higher amount of mineral ions, especially $NO_3{^-}$ and $PO_4{^-}$, than did the sap in own-rooted plants. The increase in the mineral levels in sap due to grafting was most apparent in 'Tongilhwang'. Xylem sap from both 'Keumdongee' and 'Tongilhwang' contained trans-zeatin (t-Z), trans-zeatin riboside (t-ZR), and dihydrozeatin riboside (DHZR). Small amounts of isopentenyl adenine (IPA) and isopentenyl adenine riboside (IPAR) were also detected. Trans-zeatin riboside was the most abundant, followed by t-Z. Cytokinin concentration in 'Keumdongee' was not significantly influenced by rootstock type used, although the highest concentration of cytokinins in 'Keumdongee' was obtained with 'Chamtozwa' rootstock. However, the cytokinin concentration in 'Tongilhwang' increased with grafting irrespective of rootstock type used.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.95-101
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• 2011

The influence of physicochemical properties of root substrates on the growth of mother plants and occurrence of daughter plants in 'Seolhyang' strawberry propagation were investigated through plastic bag cultivation. Six different formulations of root substrates were coir dust + perlite (5:5, A), coir dust + perlite (6:4, B), coir dust + perlite (7:3, C), coir dust + coconut chip (7:3, D), coir dust + coconut chip (6:4, E), and peatmoss + vermiculite (5:5, v/v; F). The total porosities (TP) and container capacities (CC) of all root substrates were higher than 85% and 55%, respectively, indicating that all substrates were in the acceptable range. But the TP and CC of F substrate were 91.5% and 60%, respectively, which were the highest among the root substrates tested. In the soil chemical properties analyzed before planting and after harvesting of 'Seolhyang' strawberry mother plants, the root substrates of A, B, C, and F had higher electrical conductivity and $NO_3$-N concentrations than those of D and F. The root substrates of A, B, C, and F had heavier runner fresh and dry weights, longer runner lengths, and more daughter plant occurrence than those of D and F. The treatment F had higher tissue N content than any other treatments at 120 days after the transplanting of 'Seolhyang' strawberry and statistical differences were not observed among remained 5 substrates. The treatment of F also had the higher tissue contents of other nutrients except N analyzed at 120 days after transplanting. These results indicated that soil chemical properties rather than physical properties severely influenced the growth of runners and occurrence of daughter plants.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.735-742
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• 2010

Objective of this research was to investigate the influence of liming fertilizers on changes in soil chemical properties and growth of pansy 'Melody Yellow' in plug production. To achieve this, dolomite (DO) with 0, 1.0, 3.5, 8.0 or $13.0g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and calcium carbonate (CC) with 0, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, or $4.0g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in application rate were incorporated into peatmoss + vermiculite (1:1, v/v) during the formulation. The treatments of $3.5g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of DO and 2.5 or $3.0g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of CC had acceptable range of soil solution pH such as 5.6-6.2. Faster rising of pH was observed in root media containing CC rather than those of DO, indicating higher solubility of CC. The soil Ca concentrations in all treatments of CC were 2 times as high as those of DO. The treatments of 3.5 or $8.0g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of DO had the highest soil Mg concentrations, but all treatments of CC had lower soil Mg concentrations than control indicating that additional applications of Mg fertilizers are required. The elevated application rate of DO or CC resulted in the increase of fresh and dry weight; however, plant heights were not influenced by application of liming fertilizers. The results of tissue analysis showed that application of DO or CC influenced the Ca and Mg contents, but did not influence the contents of other nutrients such as N, P, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.461-469
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• 1998

Tetrahydroisoquinoline (THI) alkaloids can be considered as cyclized derivatives of simple phenylethy-lamines, and many of them, especially with 6,7-disubstitution, demonstrate relatively high affinity for catecholamines. Two -OH groups at 6 and 7 positions are supposed to be essential to exert ?${\beta}-receptor$ activities. However, it is not clear whether -OH at 6,7 substitution of THIs also shows ?${\alpha}-adrenoceptor$ activities. In the present study, we investigated whether -OH or $-OCH_3$ substitutions of 6,7 position of THIs differently affect the ?1-adrenoceptor affinity. We synthesized two 1-naphthylmethyl THI alkaloids, $1-{\beta}-naphthylmethyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline$ HBr (YS 51) and $1-{\beta}-naphthylmethyl-6, 7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline$ HCl (YS 55), and their pharmacological actions on ?${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ were compared. YS 51 and YS 55, concentration-dependently relaxed endothelium-denuded rat thoracic aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (PE, 0.1 ${\mu}M$) in which $pEC_{50}$ were $5.89{\pm}0.21$ and $5.93{\pm}0.19$, respectively. Propranolol (30 nM) did not affect the relaxation-response curves to YS 51 and YS 55. Concentration-response curves to PE were shifted to right by the pretreatment with YS 51 or YS 55. The $pA_2$ values of YS 51 and YS 55 showed $6.05{\pm}0.24$ and $5.88{\pm}0.16$, respectively. Both probes relaxed KCl (65.4 mM)-contracted aorta and inhibited $CaCl_2-induced$ contraction of PE-stimulated endothelium- denuded rat thoracic aorta in $Ca^{2+}-free$ solutions. In isolated guinea pig papillary muscle, 1 and 10 ${\mu}M$ YS 51 increased contractile force about 4- and 8- fold over the control, respectively, along with the concentration-dependent increment of cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ ions. While, 10 ${\mu}M$ YS 55 reduced the contractile force about 50 % over the control and lowered the cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ level, in rat brain homogenates, YS 51 and YS 55 displaced $[^3H]prazosin$ binding competitively with Ki 0.15 and 0.12 ${\mu}M$, respectively. However, both probes were ineffective on $[^3H]nitrendipine$ binding. Therefore, it is concluded that two synthetic naphthylmethyl-THI alkaloids have considerable affinity to ?1-adrenenoceptors in rat aorta and brain.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.606-615
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• 2010

This study aims to identify the characteristics of soil in Mongolia, one of the major Asian dust sources that influence the Korean Peninsula. Soil particle size was analyzed and the result shows that sand (57.5~97.3%) was identified prominently in most regions, followed by silt (2.5~34.7%) and clay (0.0~7.8%). Soil pH of the covered regions were in the range 7.1~10.1, either weak alkaline or strong alkaline. Analysis of ion species in the soil samples exhibited that $Na^+$ ($91.9\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), $Cl^-$ ($65.9\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), and $Ca^{2+}$ ($53.5\;mg\;kg^{-1}$) were detected more in the soil than other species such as ${SO_4}^{2-}$ ($19.2\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), ${NO_3}^-$ ($46.6\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), ${NH_4}^+$ ($3.9\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), $K^+$ ($22.0\;mg\;kg^{-1}$), and $Mg^{2+}$ ($10.2\;mg\;kg^{-1}$). As for heavy metal content in the soil, concentrations of soil-borne metals including Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, and K tended to be high, while metals that come from manmade sources Pb, Cd, Cr, V, and Ni were remarkably low. The concentration of organic carbon (OC) was relatively high at $15.9\;{\mu}g\;mg^{-1}$, while elemental carbon (EC), directly released in the process of fossil fuel combustion, was not detected at all or found in very small amounts. The result indicates that pollution from manmade sources scarcely occurred. The analysis results from this study may contribute to improving modeling accuracy by providing input data for Asian dust prediction models, and be used as base data for determining the process of physiochemical transformation of Asian dust during long-range transport.