• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.133-144
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• 2021

This study aims to estimate location of land mammals habitat by analyzing spatial data and investigate how to apply environmental DNA monitoring methodology to lotic system in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. Environmental DNA sampling points are selected through spatial analysis with QGIS open source program by overlaying Kernel density of wild boar(Sus scrofa), elevation, slope and land-cover map, and 81 samples are collected. After 240 mL of water was filtered in each sample, metabarcoding technique using MiMammal universal primer was applied in order to get a whole list of mammal species whose DNA particles contained in filtered water. 8 and 22 samples showed DNA of wild boar and water deer, respectively. DNA of raccoon dog, Eurasian otter, and Siberian weasel are also detected through metabarcoding analysis. This study is valuable that conducted in outdoor lotic system. The study suggests a new wildlife monitoring methodology integrating overlayed geographic data and environmental DNA.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.237-254
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• 2021

Background: Some of the introduced alien species introduced settle, multiply, and spread to become invasive alien species (IAS) that threaten biodiversity. To prevent this, Korea and other countries legally designate and manage alien species that pose a risk to the environment. Moreover, 2160 alien species have been introduced in South Korea, of which 1826 animals and 334 plants are designated. The inflow of IAS can have negative effects such as ecosystem disturbance, habitat destruction, economic damage, and health damage to humans. To prevent damage caused by the inflow of IAS in advance, species that could potentially pose a risk to the environment if introduced in South Korea were designated as alert alien species (AAS). Results: The designation criteria were in accordance with the "Act on the Conservation and Use of Biological Diversity" and the "Regulations on the Ecological Risk Assessment of AAS and IAS" by the National Institute of Ecology. The analysis result of risk and damage cases indicated that mammals affect predation, competition, human economic activity, virus infection, and parasite infection. Birds have been demonstrated to affect predation, competition, human economic activity, and health. It was indicated that plants intrude on the ecosystem by competing with native species with their high-population density and capacity to multiply and cause allergic inducement. Interestingly, 300 species, including 25 mammals, 7 birds, 84 fishes, 28 amphibians, 22 reptiles, 1 insect, 32 spiders, 1 mollusk, 1 arthropod, and 99 plants, are included in the list of AAS. Conclusions: AAS designation plays a role in preventing the reduction of biodiversity by IAS in South Korea and preserving native species. Moreover, it is determined to provide considerable economic benefits by preventing socio-economic losses and ecological damage.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

Background: Available publications (e.g., theses, scientific reports, books and papers) about the elements of the Egyptian biodiversity during 2000-2018 were collected in a progress scientific report. The publications reported in this bibliography were collected from various sources including: site of the Egyptian Universities Libraries Consortium Portal, accounts of the biodiversity specialists on Research gate, direct contact with the national experts of the Egyptian biodiversity, libraries of some universities and research centers and others. The elements of the Egyptian biodiversity are classified into different categories. Results: Up till now, a total of 20,521 species were recorded in Egypt, of which insects have the highest contribution (48.7%), followed by fungi (12.1%) and vascular plants (11.5%). In a descending order, each of amphibians, viruses, reptiles, mammals, cyanobacteria, bryophytes, and bacteria have a minor contribution (< 1%). Based on the available data, Egyptian biodiversity contributes 1.3% of the world biota, although its area contributes only 0.7% of the world area. At a global scale, the most represented groups are algae (12.22% of the world figure), followed by cyanobacteria (6.08%) and birds (4.70%). On the other hand, the less represented are amphibians (0.14% of the world figure), flora (0.84%) and insects (1.00%). Conclusions: Some suggestions are recommended for preparing a phytoplankton checklist based on the rich available publications; further studies should be carried out on the lichen biodiversity in order to prepare acceptable verified checklist for this important group. In addition, paleo-biologists should work together to publish a book dealing with the Egyptian paleo-biology, such studies will lead to high ranking the Egyptian biodiversity.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.109-121
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• 2024

Mancozeb is a manganese and zinc-containing fungicide that belongs to the ethylene bisdithiocarbamate group and produces ethylene thiourea (ETU) after biotransformation or environmental degradation, which has toxicological hazard owing to its known antithyroid properties. Although mancozeb leads to negative changes in fertility capacity, the effects of ETU are less known. Therefore, this study examined the alteration of fertilization competence in boar spermatozoa exposed to ETU. The sperm motility, motion kinematics, viability, acrosome integrity, chromatin stability, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of sperm subjected to various ETU concentrations (10, 50, 100, and 200 µM) were evaluated after two different incubation times (30 min and 2 hrs). In addition, the relative mRNA expression of the sperm functional proteins was analyzed after exposure to ETU. A dose-dependent motility reduction was observed in sperm exposed to ETU during both incubation periods compared to the controls. The motion kinematics were reduced significantly in sperm incubated with ETU. Higher percentages of viable sperm were observed in the controls, while such viability was decreased significantly in sperm with 10 - 200 µM ETU. The acrosome integrity was particularly damaged on sperm incubated with 10 - 200 µM ETU for 30 min. Higher intracellular ROS levels were produced in sperm exposed to 200 µM ETU. In addition, lower relative levels of AKAP3, AKAP4, ODF2, and ZPBP2 expression were observed in sperm exposed to ETU compared to the controls. Mancozeb and ETU could adversely affect the reproductive functions of mammals. Hence, the effects of ETU on the reproductive system should be examined further.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.429-438
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• 2023

The forest in the lower Tumen River serves as an important ecosystem spanning the territories of North Korea, Russia, and China, and it provides habitat and movement corridors for diverse mammals, including the endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris) and Amur leopard (Panthera pardus). This study focuses on the Mijiang area, situated as a potential ecological corridor connecting North Korea and China in the lower Tumen River, playing a crucial role in conserving and restoring the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula. This study aimed to identify mammal species and estimate their relative abundance, occupancy, and distribution based on the 48 camera traps installed in the Mijiang area from May 2019 to May 2021. The results confirmed the presence of 18 mammal species in the Mijiang area, including large carnivores like tigers and leopards. Among the dominant mammals, four species of ungulates showed high occupancy and detection rates, particularly the Roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) and Wild boar (Sus scrofa). The roe deer was distributed across all areas with a predicted high occupancy rate of 0.97, influenced by altitude, urban residential areas, and patch density. Wild boars showed a predicted occupancy rate of 0.73 and were distributed throughout the entire area, with factors such as wetland ratio, grazing intensity, and spatial heterogeneity in aspects of the landscape influencing their occupancy and detection rates. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) exhibited a predicted occupancy rate of 0.48, confined to specific areas, influenced by slope, habitat fragmentation diversity affecting detection rates, and the ratio of open forests impacting occupancy. Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) displayed a very low occupancy rate of 0.06 along the Tumen River Basin, with higher occupancy in lower altitude areas and increased detection in locations with high spatial heterogeneity in aspects. This study confirmed that the Mijiang area serves as a habitat supporting diverse mammals in the lower Tumen River while also playing a crucial role in facilitating animal movement and habitat connectivity. Additionally, the occupancy prediction model developed in this study is expected to contribute to predicting mammal distribution within the disrupted Tumen River basin due to human interference and identifying and protecting potential ecological corridors in this transboundary region.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2007

Extracts of adult worker bodies of Vespa simillima in 2 % NaCl or acidified methanol were administered orally to mice for 70 days. Following this period, memory at one-day and one-month periods, and the effects on scopolamine-induced amnesia were examined using a step-through passive avoidance task. Changes in MK-801-induced disability after 8 days of training, and in memory one month after the trial were also assessed. Mice treated with the 2% NaCl extract showed significant improvement in memory in the behavioral tests one month after the trial, whereas mice receiving the extract in acidified methanol, did not differ from the controls in any trial. The results inidicate that Vespa simillima contains substances acting favorably on the cerebral functions of mammals.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2009

In mammals, major progress has recently been made with the dissection of early embryonic cell specification, the isolation of stem cells from early embryos, and the production of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells. These studies have overcome long-standing species barriers for stem cell isolation, have revealed a deeper than expected similarity of embryo cell types across species, and have led to a better understanding of the lineage identities of embryo-derived stem cells, most notably of mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Thus, it has now become possible to propose a species-overarching classification of embryo stem cells, which are defined here as pre- to early post-implantation conceptus-derived stem cell types that maintain embryonic lineage identities in vitro. The present article gives an overview of these cells and discusses their relationships with each other and the conceptus. Consequently, it is debated whether further embryo stem cell types await isolation, and the study of the earliest extraembryonically committed stem cells is identified as a promising new research field.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2016

Insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling (IIS) pathway regulates aging in many organisms, ranging from simple invertebrates to mammals, including humans. Many seminal discoveries regarding the roles of IIS in aging and longevity have been made by using the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In this review, we describe the mechanisms by which various IIS components regulate aging in C. elegans and D. melanogaster. We also cover systemic and tissue-specific effects of the IIS components on the regulation of lifespan. We further discuss IIS-mediated physiological processes other than aging and their effects on human disease models focusing on C. elegans studies. As both C. elegans and D. melanogaster have been essential for key findings regarding the effects of IIS on organismal aging in general, these invertebrate models will continue to serve as workhorses to help our understanding of mammalian aging.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.1289-1292
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• 1997

Typical biomechanical system such as human body and mammals possess abundant muscles which are more than required for motion generation of such systems. We have shown that the excess number of muscles play important roles in spring-like impedance modulation. redundant kinematic structure, which is another feature of biomechanical systems, allows modulations of inertia and damping properties of such systems. In this work, we propose a frequency modulation algorithm which combines the spring-like impedance with inertia impedance. also, a load distribution method for frequency modulation is also introduced. The frequency modulation represents a simulataneous control of force and kinematic redundancies, which has not been addressed in the literature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.130-133
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• 2003

Peroxiredoxins are a family of antioxidant proteins ubiquitously found in all living organisms. A type of peroxidase enzyme, named thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx), that reduces $H_2O$$_2$ with the use of electrons from thioredoxin and contains two essential cysteines was identified in a wide variety of organisms ranging from prokaryotes to mammals. TPx homologs, termed peroxiredoxin (Prx), have also been identified and include several proteins, designated 1-Cys Prx, that contain only one conserved cysteine. (omitted)