• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.132-140
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• 2017

Objective: Correlations between semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were investigated to identify characteristics of sperm without DNA damage that could be used in selecting sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Pregnancy outcomes were compared to determine whether in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ICSI is a better choice for patients who have sperm with a high-DFI. Methods: Semen analysis was carried out in 388 patients who visited our IVF center for the first time to investigate correlations between sperm DFI and semen parameters. In addition, 1,102 IVF cycles in 867 patients were carried out in the present study; 921 cycles in the low-DFI group (DFI < 30%) and 181 cycles in the high-DFI group ($DFI{\geq}30%$). Both the low- and high-DFI groups were subdivided into IVF and ICSI cycle groups. Results: Sperm DFI showed significant inverse correlations with sperm motility (r = -0.435, p< 0.001) and morphology (r = -0.153, p< 0.05). Sperm DFI also showed significant correlations with rapid motility (r = -0.436, p< 0.001), and the kinetic parameters of average-path velocity (r = -0.403) and linearity (r = -0.412). Although there was no significant difference in the pregnancy rates between IVF (48.6%) and ICSI (44.8%) in the low-DFI group, the pregnancy rate of ICSI cycles (44.8%, p< 0.05) was significantly higher than IVF cycles (25.0%) in the high-DFI group. No significant difference was observed in the abortion rates between the low-DFI (52 of 921, 5.6%) and high-DFI groups (7 of 181, 3.8%). Conclusion: ICSI is a better choice than IVF for improving the pregnancy outcomes of patients who have sperm with a high DFI.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.520-533
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• 2021

It is necessary to increase the blasting efficiency in order to minimize the economic loss caused when the excavation cross section is reduced due to the stability problem of underground mining development, and for this, a new blasting design is proposed. In this study, the blasting efficiency of the general design in the field, the suggestion designI, which added two columns to production blasting, and the suggestion design II, which added one column to create asymmetry, is compared. Advance rate and fragmentation were selected as the evaluation index of the blasting efficiency. In the case of advance rate, compared to the normal, the suggestionI improved by 6.07% and the suggestionII improved by 4.65%. In the case of fragmentation, based on P80, compared to the normal, the suggestionI reduced about 58% and the suggestionII was about 47%. Accoording to the evaluation index, the suggestion designI shows better blasting efficiency than the suggestion designII. But considering the additional work time and cost required for the suggestion designI due to the insignificant difference in the evaluation index results, the asymmetry V-cut, the suggestion designII, is judged to be a more suitable blasting design for the site.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.120-130
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• 2016

Considering the applicability of Kuz-Ram model, which has been used extensively for predicting rock fragmentation size distribution by blasting, to domestic open-pit limestone mine, a total of 21 blasting tests have been executed at an open-pit limestone mine in eastern Gangwon of South Korea. A comparative analysis of field measured value and Kuz-Ram predicted value showed that there are a considerable amount of error in the predicted values regardless of application of various correction parameters for rock factor and uniformity factor; up to 56.45% in mean fragmentation size and 37.52% in uniformity index. Also the problem of applying different correction parameters has been derived even though a similar blasting pattern has been adopted for a same blasting bench. The authors therefore suggest that Kuz-Ram model needs to be modified for a proper application to domestic open-pit limestone mine.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.11 no.4 s.29
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• pp.47-57
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• 2005

The goal of this research is to evaluate landscape-ecological characteristics of watersheds in the Nakdong River Basin by using Geogaphic Information System (GIS) and landscape indices for integation of spatio-temporal informations and multivariate statistical techniques for quantitative analysis of forest landscape. Fragmentation index and change matrix techniques using factor analysis and grid overlay method were used to efficiently analyze and manage huge amount of information for ecological-environmental assessment (land-cover and forest landscape patterns). According to the results based on the pattern analysis of land-cover changes using the change detection matrix between 1980s and 1990s, addition on 750km$^2$ became urbanized areas. The altered 442.04km$^2$ was agricultural areas which is relatively easy for shifting of land-use, and 205.1km$^2$ of forests became urbanized areas, and average elevation and slope of the whole altered areas were 75m and 4$^{\circ}$. On the other hand, 120km$^2$ of urban areas were changed into other areas (i.e., agricultural areas and green space), and fortunately, certain amount of naturalness had been recovered. But still those agricultural areas and fallow areas, which were previously urban areas, had high potential of re-development for urbanization due to their local conditions. According to the structural analysis of forest landscape using the landscape indices, the forest fragmentation of watersheds along the main stream of the Nakdong River was more severe than my other watersheds. Furthermore, the Nakdong-sangju and Nakdong-miryang watersheds had unstable forest structures as well as least amount of forest quantity. Thus, these areas need significant amount of forest through a new forest management policy considering local environmental conditions.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2018

As food consumption pattern changes (reduced rice consumption and increased consumption of fresh vegetables), managing upland fields became a greater priority. However, the agricultural infrastructure projects have been focused on rice farming, and the infrastructure level to support dry fields cultivation is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to spatial distribution analysis of these dry fields with farm manager registration information. Using FRAGSTATS, we analyzed landscape indices (TA/CA, NP, PD, LSI, LPI, PLADJ, COHESION, CONNECT, AI) of farmlands in which farmers in 13 regions (Si or Gun) cultivated dry-field crops. As results of this analysis, the total area of the fields in Naju-si, Hampyeong-gun and Suncheon-si were found to be wider, but the average area of a patch in Youngam-gun, Hampyeong-gun and Jangseong-gun were wider than other regions. On average, each farmer had farmlands containing of 1.7~2.4 patches and cultivated crops in fields of 0.2~0.5 ha. Farmlands of Hampyeong-gun, Youngam-gun, Naju-si showed high values in adjacency indices, however the farmlands of Suncheon and Gwangyang showed fragmented distribution with low values in adjacency indices. These results of fragmentation analysis of farmlands could be used when we establish the plan of an agricultural infrastructure project or select places for a collaborative agricultural management business promotion project.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartD
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• v.13D no.7 s.110
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• pp.867-878
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• 2006

In the past few years, the research of sensor networks is forced dramatically. Specially, while the research for maintaining the power of a sensor is focused, we are also concerned nth query processing related with the optimization of multiple continuous queries for decreasing in unnecessary energy consumption of sensor networks. We present the fragmentation algorithm to solve the redundancy problem in multiple continuous queries that increases in the count or the amount of transmitting data in sensor networks. The fragmentation algorithm splits one query into more than two queries using the query index (QR-4ree) in order to reduce the redundant query region between a newly created query and the existing queries. The R*-tree should be reorganized to the QR-tree right to the structure suggested. In the result, we preserve 20 percentage of the total energy in the sensor networks.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2005

Chirisan National Park, the first and largest one out of 20 national parks in Korea, is divided into five zones. They are composed of nature preservation zone, natural environment zone, natural residential zone, concentrated residential zone, and collective facility zone. However, the park is not a continuous habitat: roads, trails, local residences, and various facilities created the habitat mosaics severely fragmented. We investigated the fragmentation pattern of the park due to roads and mountain trails using GIS. Based on perimeter length, area, and the ratio of perimeter to area of each patch, we obtained landscape analysis indices which reflect the regularity of the patch shape. The 1 m-wide hiking trails divided the park into 491 fragments. The legal trails with 1.5 m - 3 m width which have been heavily used by hikers generate 58 fragments. Even the nature preservation zone, corresponding to a core zone comprising 31.8% of the park area, was divided into 37 fragments because of the roads and mountain trails. With the different widths of buffer applied, the core sizes of the fragments were reduced. When the 60 m buffer was applied, the patch interior areas ranged from 0.0001 to 47.77 $km^2$ with a mean of 7.08 $km^2$. The landscape shape indices were far greater than 1 for most of the cases with a maximum value of 25. These results clearly indicate that Chirisan National Park is not a continuous habitat, but mosaics of small, irregularly shaped habitat fragments. It is necessary to take the size and shape of the fragmented habitats into consideration when nature conservation is planned, especially for large wildlife such as brown bears.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.185-191
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• 2023

Objective: Although intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a way to deal with in vitro fertilization failure, 3% of couples still experience repeated fertilization failure after attempted ICSI, despite having sperm within normal parameters. These patients are a challenging group whose sperm cannot fertilize the egg during ICSI. Unfortunately, no test can predict the risk of fertilization failure. Phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ) and transition nuclear proteins (TNPs) are essential factors for chromatin packaging during sperm maturation. This study aimed to assess PLCζ1 and TNP1 expression in the sperm of patients with fertilization failure and the correlations among the DNA fragmentation index, PLCζ1 and TNP1 gene and protein expression, and the risk of fertilization failure. Methods: In this study, 12 infertile couples with low fertilization rates (<25%) and complete failure of fertilization in their prior ICSI cycles despite normal sperm parameters were chosen as the case group. Fifteen individuals who underwent ICSI for the first time served as the control group. After sperm analysis and DNA fragmentation assays, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analyses were performed to compare the gene and protein expression of PLCζ and TNP1 in both groups. Results: DNA fragmentation was significantly higher in the fertilization failure group. The qRT-PCR and Western blot results demonstrated significantly lower PLCζ and TNP1 gene and protein expression in these patients than in controls. Conclusion: The present study showed that fertilization failure in normozoospermic men was probably due to deficient DNA packaging and expression of TNP1.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.240-250
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• 1998

This study is to have attempted to analyze the characteristics of the change in forest landscape pattern of Seoul for 18 years by grasping it through satellite image data on the forest area in Seoul where a rapid change according urbanization and industrialization is going on. On the basis of Landsat MSS data- satellite image data, this writer analyzed the change in the number and size of patch and the mean edge length of each forest land, and the index of patch shape by each year from a landscape -ecological point of view. The results are as follows; First, in the pattern change of the forest patch of Seoul, the highest patch fragmentation area is the forest of the Yangchon-gu district where is decreasing it forest area by 654ha, 511ha, 495ha, 402ha each year from its total size of 742ha in 1979. Second, the change tendency shows that the average forest size decreased at 552.58ha in 1983, 435.03ha in 1988, 396.23ha in 1992, and 379.96ha in 1996. And analysis showed that even in the number of patches, the forest fragmentation phenomenon was presenting by the increase of development disturbance. Third, the mean edge by year was longest at 23,385m in 1979, but it is decreasing continuously. This shows the regular and artificial uniformity of forest landscape by disturbance-effect increase of the built-up development and shows low portion against edge effect by the time-series change like 1979>1983>198>1992>1996. Finally, in the analysis of a shape index indicated by ratio of size and edge, total averages were 2.56, 2.33, 2.17, 2.14, 2.14 each year, so that it is considered that the disturbance and ecological health status against forest landscape can be grasped according to being examined as 1979>1983>1988>1992, 1996 by the time-series change of the landscape.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1411-1420
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of study was to investigate the effects of season and single layer centrifugation (SLC) before cryopreservation on post-thaw bull sperm quality in Thailand. Methods: Semen was collected from 6 bulls (Bos indicus) in summer, rainy season and winter 2014 through 2016. Semen characteristics, sperm morphology, sperm kinematics, viability, chromatin structure and mitochondrial membrane were evaluated. Meteorological data were available from the local meteorological station; Results: Season had an effect on semen characteristics in the raw ejaculate, with higher proportions of normal spermatozoa and lower abnormalities in winter than in the other two seasons. Sperm kinematics, viability, DNA fragmentation index, and mitochondrial membrane potential were not different between seasons. Sperm samples selected by SLC had greater normal morphology and a lower proportion with bent tails than controls and higher values of progressive motility (PRO), beat cross frequency, linearity, straightness, wobble (WOB), and lower values of slow motility, velocity average path (VAP), velocity curved line, and amplitude of lateral head displacement than controls. In addition, SLC-selection had a favorable effect on PRO, VAP, and WOB that differed among seasons. Conclusion: Our results suggested that these bulls were well adapted to their location, with season having an effect on sperm morphology. Moreover, SLC could be used prior to cryopreservation, regardless of season, to enhance normal morphology and kinematics of bull sperm samples without adversely affecting other parameters of sperm quality. However, there was considerable variation among bulls in DNA fragmentation index, mitochondrial membrane potential and sperm viability. In addition, SLC had a positive effect on sperm morphology and sperm kinematics, which could be expected to influence fertility.