• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.27-39
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• 2019

Agricultural risks are exacerbated by a variety of factors ranging from climatevariability and change, frequent natural disasters, uncertainties in yields and prices, weakrural infrastructure, imperfect markets and lack of financial services including limited spanand design of risk mitigation instruments such as credit and insurance. Indian agriculture has little more than half (53%) of its area still rainfed and this makes it highly sensitive to vagaries of climate causing unstable output. Besides adverse climatic factors, there are man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, adulteration of pesticides and fertilizers etc., and all these severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and are beyond the control of farmers. Hence, crop insurance' is considered to be the promising tool to insulate the farmers from risks faced by them and to sustain them in the agri-business. This paper critically evaluates the performance of recent crop insurance scheme viz., Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) and its comparative performance with earlier agricultural insurance schemes implemented in the country. It is heartening that, the comparative performance of PMFBY with earlier schemes revealed that, the Government has definitely taken a leap forward in covering more number of farmers and bringing more area under crop insurance with the execution of this new scheme and on this front, it deserves the appreciation in fulfilling the objective for bringing more number of farmers under insurance cover. The use of mobile based technology, reduced number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) and smart CCEs, digitization of land record and linking them to farmers' account for faster assessment/settlement of claims are some of the steps that contributed for effective implementation of this new crop insurance scheme. However, inadequate claim payments, errors in loss/yield assessment, delayed claim payment, no direct linkage between insurance companies and farmers are the major shortcomings of this scheme. This calls for revamping the crop insurance program in India from time to time in tune with the dynamic changes in climatic factors on one hand and to provide a safety-net for farmers to mitigate losses arising from climatic shocks on the other. The future research avenues include: insuring the revenue of the farmer (Price × Yield) as in USA and more and more tenant farmers should be brought under insurance by doling out discounts for group coverage of farmers like in Philippines where 20 per cent discount in premium is given for a group of 5-10 farmers, 30 per cent for a group of 10-20 and 40 per cent for a group of >20 farmers.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2010

Curcuminoids are polyphenolic compounds and include curcumin and its derivatives possessing a yellow color. In the present study, changes in the chemical stability and antioxidant activities of curcuminoids, including curcumin, demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BMC), were investigated under various processing conditions. The yellowness of a mixture of the curcuminoids (79.4% curcumin, 16.8% DMC, and 3.8% BMC) at 405 nm was proportional to their amounts analyzed by HPLC. The curcuminoids became less stable with increases of pH and temperature during storage. Exposing a solution of the curcuminoids to autoclave conditions ($121^{\circ}C$, 1.2 atm for 15 min) decreased residual curcuminoid levels by 80-90%; however, as a powder under the same conditions the curcuminoids were much more stable with less than 10% loss. After autoclave treatment, scavenging activities of the curcuminoids for DPPH and ABTS radicals were reduced by 10.3 and 33.4%, respectively, whereas nitric oxide scavenging activity was slightly increased. The residual levels of curcumin, DMC, and BMC after autoclaving were 0.7, 1.4, and 0.9%, respectively, indicating that curcumin was the most sensitive to autoclave treatment. The results indicate that under processing conditions, pH and temperature markedly affect the stability of curcuminoids and major losses of curcuminoids occur after autoclaving. These conditions should be considered when processing foods containing curcuminoids.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.173-178
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Starfish is one of major sea invertebrates that have become a serious economic threat to aquacultural farms in Korea. Much effort has sacrificed to reduce the economic losses of the farms by predatory starfish, including developing and searching biological resources for medicinal and agricultural purposes. In the present study, we investigated aphicidal activity of the extracts from the starfish Asterina pectinifera against green peach aphid. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fresh starfishes were cut into small pieces, homogenized and soaked in methanol. The methanol extracts were centrifuged and the resulting supernatant was subjected to aphicidal activity assays and a series of silica gel column chromatography. More than 70% mortality of aphids were observed by the extracts at a concentration of 1,000 mg/L, exhibiting dose-dependent mortality. TOF-MS analyses detected polyhydroxysteroid as a main aphicidal compound from the starfish extracts. Transmission electronic microscopy could demonstrate that the extracts with polyhydroxysteroid caused aphids death by affecting their epicuticular membrane. CONCLUSION(s): This is the first report of aphicidal activity of the starfish Asterina pectinifera extracts against green peach aphid. Starfish biological resources may be used as a potential candidate for developing a new type natural insecticide.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2015

VHSV is a major viral agent that affects freshwater and marine fish, causing serious economic losses in aquaculture in the world. Due to their filter-feeding activity, bivalve mollusks may act as viral transmitters after accumulation of the fish viruses released into seawater from infected fish. Amplification by RT-PCR was carried out to investigate the presence of VHSV in pacific oysters (Crassotrea gigas) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), inhabiting regions around aquatic farms in Korea. Primers designed from conserved regions of VHSVs allowed us to detect four different types of VHSV in a single PCR. Twenty two of the eighty four samples showed positive results of VHSV in a 2-step RT-PCR. Using six positive samples from three different regions in Korea, we cloned and sequenced the glycoprotein (G) gene (467-bp long) of VHSVs. Genetic analysis of the VHSVs detected in shellfish in various geographical areas of Korea showed highly restricted results to VHSV type Iva. This was in agreement with the reports showing only a single genotype of VHSV (Iva genotype) in outbreaks in cultured or wild fish in Korea. Consequently, we investigated VHSVs carried by bivalve mollusks inhabiting the vicinity of aquatic farms, and revealed correlationship between the type of viral accumulated in shellfish by filter-feeding, and those detected in disease outbreaks in fish.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2014

Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is an important plant pathogen that causes head blight of major cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and rice, as well as causing ear and stalk rot on maize worldwide. Plant diseases caused by this fungus lead to severe yield losses and accumulation of harmful mycotoxins in infected cereals [1]. Fungi utilize spore production as a mean to rapidly avoid unfavorable environmental conditions and to amplify their population. Spores are produced sexually and asexually and their production is precisely controlled. Upstream developmental activators consist of fluffy genes have been known to orchestrate early induction of condiogenesis in a model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying conidiogenesis in F. graminearum, we characterized functions of the F. graminearum fluffy gene homologs [2]. We found that FlbD is conserved regulatory function for conidiogenesis in both A. nidulans and F. graminearum among five fluffy gene homologs. flbD deletion abolished conidia and perithecia production, suggesting that FlbD have global roles in hyphal differentiation processes in F. graminearum. We further identified and functionally characterized the ortholog of AbaA, which is involved in differentiation from vegetative hyphae to conidia and known to be absent in F. graminearum [3]. Deletion of abaA did not affect vegetative growth, sexual development, or virulence, but conidium production was completely abolished and thin hyphae grew from abnormally shaped phialides in abaA deletion mutants. Overexpression of abaA resulted in pleiotropic defects such as impaired sexual and asexual development, retarded conidium germination, and reduced trichothecene production. AbaA localized to the nuclei of phialides and terminal cells of mature conidia. Successful interspecies complementation using A. nidulans AbaA and the conserved AbaA-WetA pathway demonstrated that the molecular mechanisms responsible for AbaA activity are conserved in F. graminearum as they are in A. nidulans. F. graminearum ortholog of Aspergillus nidulans wetA has been shown to be involved in conidiogenesis and conidium maturation [4]. Deletion of F. graminearum wetA did not alter mycelial growth, sexual development, or virulence, but the wetA deletion mutants produced longer conidia with fewer septa, and the conidia were sensitive to acute stresses, such as oxidative stress and heat stress. Furthermore, the survival rate of aged conidia from the F. graminearum wetA deletion mutants was reduced. The wetA deletion resulted in vigorous generation of single-celled conidia through autophagy-dependent microcycle conidiation, indicating that WetA functions to maintain conidia dormancy by suppressing microcycle conidiation in F. graminearum. In A. nidulans, FlbB physically interacts with FlbD and FlbE, and the resulting FlbB/FlbE and FlbB/FlbD complexes induce the expression of flbD and brlA, respectively. BrlA is an activator of the AbaA-WetA pathway. AbaA and WetA are required for phialide formation and conidia maturation, respectively [5]. In F. graminearum, the AbaA-WetA pathway is similar to that of A. nidulans, except a brlA ortholog does not exist. Amongst the fluffy genes, only fgflbD has a conserved role for regulation of the AbaA-WetA pathway.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.87-98
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• 1994

Sludge minimization in an water treatment plant can be achieved by optimizing a main water treatment process as well as by enhancing a thickening and a dewatering facilities. In this study, dewatering and drying techniques for reducing the quantity of the water sludge generated from the conventional water treatment plant in the local states were investigated by reducing its water content. Not only the types and dosages of polymers but also the mixing intensity of the mixtures of a concentrated sludge and polymers on the different pH were evaluated for the optimum dewatering conditions of the water sludge. Weight reduction of the water sludge was also tested at a given temperature range. The dewatering efficiency of the water sludge was not affected by the types of polymer but by mixing intensity(GT value) in this study. pH effect on dewaterbility of the water sludge took a major role at the neutral pH range. The optimal polymer dose was 1.5 mg-polymer/g-TSS(about 40mg/L as polymer). Dewaterability was enhanced at a lower mixing intensity(GTbelow 10,000 sec-1). Free water in the void of sludge cake was dried around $100^{\circ}C$, chemical bound water was evaporated around $320^{\circ}C$, and organic material was burned out at the range of 300 to $600^{\circ}C$. Ignition losses of the water sludge were varied 15 to 40 % as the raw water quality. The ignition loss due to the chemical bound water was 10-20% and the loss due to the organic material was 4-20% of the total ignition loss.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.195-204
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• 2008

Viral diseases are major emerging problems of shrimp that have affected the production, and even complete losses for shrimp farms. In this study, we developed a sensitive TaqMan real-time PCR method to quantify white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) in the shrimp and pond water in which fleshy shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis, and Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, are reared. WSSV and HPV in pond seawaters ranged from $1.65{\times}10^3$ to $2.43{\times}10^9$ and from 0 to $4.43{\times}10^5$ copies/L of seawater, respectively. Of 20 ponds analyzed, all pond water and shrimp were positive for WSSv. L. vannamei showed higher susceptibility to WSSV than F chinensis. HPV was detected only in the pond water for F chinensis. In shrimp tissue, however, HPV was found in both species, with 23-times higher infection rate in F chinensis than L. vannamei. The total bacterial counts in the pond water ranged from $2.23{\times}l0^3$ to $1.98{\times}l0^5\;CFU/mL$. The variations in total bacterial count for each pond appeared to correlate to the variations of the WSSV load. Statistical analysis indicated that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the WSSV load in pond water and shrimp, and there was no relationship between total bacterial load and viral load in the pond water. However, a significant difference (P<0.01) was found between HPV load and L. vannamei and F chinensis pond water.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.331-345
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• 2014

Objectives: The exponential growth of chemicals, an area of high concern in developed countries like the US (i.e., the Gore Initiative) and in the EU (i.e., REACH), as well as recent chemical accidents in Korea, have provoked nationwide concerns and resultant legal enforcement. This study aims to compare the laws of the Ministry of Environment (the Chemical Substances Control Act (CSCA), Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (ARECS)) with those of the Ministry of the Employment and Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)). Methods: Each law pertaining to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of the Employment and Labor was downloaded from the official legal information system (www.law.go.kr). The objectives of each law and the major contents related to chemical management were compared and summarized. Results: The CSCA and the ARECS are focused on the protection of people and the environment, while the OSHA relates to the protection of workers. The right to know of people and workers has been reinforced. The former two laws emphasize prevention, but the OSHA contains both preventive and post-accident measures. The role of the Ministry of Employment was reinforced with the promulgation of the CSCA and ARECS, which contain regulations such as adjacent area impact evaluation, risk control planning, chemical statistical survey and construction and operation of information, provision of risk control plans, response to chemical accidents and registration of chemical substances. Conclusion: We found that the three laws discussed here have several similar clauses designed to protect people and the environment from risks that may be caused by the use of chemicals, even though there are some differences among them in terms of objectives and contents. This review concluded that several clauses that can be regarded as double regulation should be unified in order to minimize the waste of government administrative resources and socio-economic losses.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2011

The use of soft magnetic materials have been increasing in the various industrial fields according to the increasing demand for high performance, automatic, miniaturing equipments in the recent our life. In this study, we investigated the effect of factors on the core loss and magnetic properties of electrical steel and soft magnetic composites. Furthermore, we reviewed the major efforts to reduce the core loss and improve the soft magnetic properties in the two main soft magnetic materials. Domain purification which results from reduced density of defects in cleaner electrical steels is combined with large grains to reduce hysteresis loss. The reduced thickness and the high electrical conductivity reduce the eddy current component of loss. Furthermore, the coating applied to the surface of electrical steel and texture control lead to improve high permeability and low core loss. There is an increasing interest in soft magnetic composite materials because of the demand for miniaturization of cores for power electronic applications. The SMC materials have a broad range of potential applications due to the possibility of true 3-D electromagnetic design and higher frequency operation. Grain size, sintering temperature, and the degree of porosity need to be carefully controlled in order to optimize structure-sensitive properties such as maximum permeability and low coercive force. The insulating coating on the powder particles in SMCs eliminates particle-to-particle eddy current paths hence minimizing eddy current losses, but it reduces the permeability and to a small extent the saturation magnetization. The combination of new chemical composition with optimum powder manufacturing processes will be able to result in improving the magnetic properties in soft magnetic composite materials, too.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.687-700
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• 2014

Rice blast (Magnaporthe oryza B.) is one of the most important diseases in rice that causing great yield losses every year around the world. It is important to screen valuable genetic resources for improving blast resistance. This study was conducted to identify the blast resistance in 279 Korean rice landraces using blast nursery tests and isolate inoculum screening. The results showed that 11 landrace accessions found to be resistant to rice blast in blast nursery and inoculation screening tests and the degree of lesions in most accessions showed that they were susceptible to reactions. In order to find the distribution of blast resistant genes, a molecular survey was conducted to identify the presence of major blast resistance (R) gene in 279 Korean landraces. The results revealed that their frequency distribution was Pik-m (36.2%), Piz (25.4%), Pit (13.6%), and Pik (10%). Besides, the frequency distribution of Piz-t, Pii, Pik-m/Pik-p, Pi-39(t), Pib, Pi-d(t)2, Pita/Pita-2 and Pi-ta genes were identified as less than 10%. The results did not consist with the reactions against blast diseases between genotypes and phenotypic part of the nursery tests and isolate inoculation. For concluding these results, we used genome-wide SSR markers that have closely been located with resistance genes. The PCoA analysis showed that the landrace accessions formed largely two distinct groups according to their degree of blast resistance. By comparing genetic diversities using polymorphic information contents (PIC) value among the resistant, total and susceptible landraces, we found that PIC values decreased in four SSR markers and increased in six markers in the resistant accessions, which showed contrary to total and susceptible groups. These regions might be linked to resistance alleles. In this study, we evaluated the degree of blast resistance and the information about the distribution of rice blast resistant genes in Korean rice landraces. This study might be the basis for association analysis of blast resistance in rice.