• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.111-117
• /
• 2004

Objectives: To investigate the effect of LH receptor in folliculogenesis, we confirm the expression level of LH receptor (LH-R) mRNA in human granulosa cells (GCs) and its expression levels were analyzed by comparison to embryo developmental rate and pregnancy rate. Materials and Methods: GCs were obtained at the time of oocyte retrieval from the patients undergoing IVF-ET program. The patients were divided into two groups: Group I (n=20) is poor responder (retrieved oocyte(s)$\leq$3ea), Group II (n=80) is normal responder (retrieved oocytes>3ea). After the extraction of total RNA, semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed and the expression level of LH-R mRNA was normalized by $\beta$-actin. Statistical analysis was performed by using $X^2$ test, Student's t-test and Pearson correlation. Results: In Group II, the relative values of LH-R mRNA (0.680 vs. 0.463, p<0.005) and pregnancy rate (54.7% vs. 23.1%, p<0.05) were significantly higher than in Group I. Number of retrieved oocyte(s) was gradually increased when the expression of LH-R mRNA was increased (p<0.05). But the quality of retrieved oocyte and transferred embryo were not related with the expression of LH-R mRNA. When the pregnancy rate was compared with FSH only group and FSH combined with hMG group in the ovarian stimulation protocol, FSH combined with hMG group was significantly higher than FSH only group in Group I (37.5% vs. 0%), and the expression of LH-R mRNA was significantly higher in hMG combined group than FSH only group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Expression level of LH-R mRNA has important role in ovarian function related with the response to gonadotrophin in human folliculogenesis. Furthermore these data might provide the evidence that additional use of hMG is helpful to poor responders.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.13-25
• /
• 1986

One of the most medically important snail species of Korea is Semisulcospira spp., a member of the freshwater prosobranch family pleuroceridae. The parasites that these snails transmit to humans are mainly Paragonimus westermani and Metagonimus yokogawoi. On the other hand, Semisulcospira snails are edible as a foodstuff in Korea. The present study was first aimed to detect out residual pesticides in the snails collected at the endemic and non-endemic areas of paragonimiasis in Korea and to make relationship to the detectability of larval trematodes shed from the snails. In addition, water specimens from the habitats where the snails were collected were sampled and analysed to elucidate environmental conditions of the habitats. This malaco-ecological survey was done at 7 endemic and 3 non-endemic areas of paragonimiasis for about more than 2 years, May, 1984 through October, 1986. All the water smaples both from the endemic and non-endemic areas of paragonimiasis showed normal ranges of the criteria of upper freshwater streams, with lower B.O.D. (0.4~2.0 ppm) and higher D.O. values (9.5~11.0 ppm) than those in the large river systems Infection rate of digenetic trematodes in total snails collected was 6.7%, but no Paragonimus cercaria was detected out at all even in the endemic areas of paragonimiasis. The ecological factors affecting Paragonimus larvae in the snails were also discussed. A total of 9 chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticieds was targeted to detect out from the tissues of snails. Out of 9 pesticides, aldrin, beta-BHC, p, p-DDT, dieldrin, DDE, lindane, heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide were eluted from the snails. The highest levels of the pesticides were mostly detected out in the snails collected from the Donghae-Chun area of Haman and the Kangwha area of Kyongki-Do, where the lowest infection rates of trematode cercariae (0~0.5%) were revealed. The possibilities that the residual pesticides in the freshwater animals including Semisulcospira snails might be transferable to humans were also discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.221-227
• /
• 2004

Nutrient utilization and plasma level of minerals were studied in lactating crossbred cows fed diet supplemented from different source of minerals. Twelve crossbred cows of first to third lactation during their mid stage of lactation were distributed equally under two groups and were fed concentrate mixture, green fodder (para grass) and finger millet straw as per requirement. Cows in group I were fed concentrate mixture supplemented with 1% mineral mixture whereas cows in group II were not supplemented with mineral mixture in the concentrate mixture but were offered additional quantity of green fodder (1 kg DM/cow/day) to compensate for the requirement of minerals. Balance study conducted towards the end of 120 days of feeding experiment indicated that the total dry matter intake in both the groups did not differ significantly. The cows in group II offered additional quantity of green fodder consumed significantly (p<0.05) more of green fodder (5.11 vs. 4.51 kg /animal/day) and the cows in group I consumed significantly (p<0.01) more of finger millet straw (1.71 vs. 0.92 kg/animal/day). The digestibility of major nutrients did not differ between the groups except for ether extract which was significantly (p<0.05) lower in cows fed additional green fodder. The total daily intake of P, Cu, Fe and Co did not differ significantly in both the groups whereas significantly higher intakes of Ca, Mg, Zn and Mn were observed in cows supplemented with inorganic source of minerals. However, supplementation through both the sources could meet the mineral requirement in group I and group II. The gut absorption (%) of all the minerals was comparable between the groups except for Mg which was significantly (p<0.05) higher in cows supplemented mineral mixture. The net retention of all the minerals was significantly more in the group supplemented with inorganic source of minerals. Except for P, Mg and Co the retention as percentage of total intake was comparable for all minerals in both the groups. Irrespective of source of mineral supplementation the average monthly blood plasma mineral levels (Ca, P, Mg, Cu, Zn, Fe) were within the normal range and comparable between the groups. Lower level of Cu observed at the start of the experimental feeding in both the groups increased with the advancement of supplemental feeding. The plasma Zn and Fe content in cows of both the groups did not vary. The blood plasma level of some minerals (Ca, P, Mg and Cu) was significantly higher towards the end of experimental feeding as compared to the initial values due to the reduction in milk yield with advancement of lactation or due to supplemental effect of minerals. It could be concluded that supplementation of minerals through inorganic source is better utilized in terms of retention as compared to green fodder (para grass), which is a moderate source of most nutrients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6451-6457
• /
• 2013

Background and Purpose: Indigenous people who leave their hometowns and move to the city to earn a living became urban aboriginals. During the process of adapting to urban living situations, they may use various coping strategies such as smoking to overcome their stress. Therefore, it is crucial to provide health education including smoking prevention, increasing knowledge regarding of tobacco hazard, self-efficacy of anti-smoking, and adjusting smoking behavior so as to empower their anti-smoking motivation to prevent lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of an anti-smoking program on urban aboriginals in Taiwan. Methods: A quasi-experimental study design with purposeful sampling was employed. A total of 125 aboriginal subjects were recruited from two local churches at Shu Lin area in northern Taiwan. Subjects were divided into an experimental group (n =64 ) and a control group (n = 61). Both took pre-tests in order to set baseline values, and only the experimental group participated for 3-weeks in the anti-smoking program classes. Both groups took post-tests immediately after the intervention in order to evaluate the immediate effects of the teaching program, and a follow-up test was conducted four weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANCOVA, and repeat measure ANCOVA. Results: After controlling for confounding variables, the results showed that there were statistically significant differences in the self-efficacy of anti-smoking and smoking behavior between experimental and control groups in the immediately post-test and the follow-up test (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant differences in the recognition of hazards of smoking at eiter time point. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The findings of this study revealed that the anti-smoking program effectively improved self-efficacy of anti-smoking, and decreased the smoking behavior in urban aboriginals. They provide useful information as a reference regarding of aboriginal health promotion to health providers. It is imperative that anti-smoking be reinforced for those regular smokers to prevent induction of lung cancer.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.320-329
• /
• 1977

p-Phenylenediamine dihydroperchlorate, $C_6H_4N_2H_4{\cdot}2HC1O_4$, crystallizes in space group $P\={1}$ with $a=4.79{\pm}0.02,\;b=9.03{\pm}0.02,\;c=7.12{\pm}0.03{\AA},\;{\alpha}=109.4{\pm}0.2,\;{\beta}=79.6{\pm}0.2,\;r=104.6{\pm}0.2^{\circ},\;Z=1$. The structure has been solved by the Patterson and Fourier methods. The refinement by block-diagonal least-squares cycles gives R = 0.13 for 387 observed reflexions collected on equi-inclination Weissenberg photographs with CuK${\alpha}$ radiation. There are two different types of five hydrogen bonds. The first type consists of one trifurcated N${\cdot}{\cdot}{\cdot}$O hydrogen bond and the second of two normal N${\cdot}{\cdot}{\cdot}$O hydrogen bonds, both of which exist between the amino group and the perchlorate, groups. A p-phenylenediamine group is approximately planar within an experimental error and bonded to twelve perchlorates: ten perchlorates forming hydrogen bonds and two being contacted with the van der Waals forces. A perchlorate group is surrounded by six p-phenylenediamines and four perchlorates; among the six p-phenylenediamines, five of them are hydrogen-bonded, and the rest contacted with the van der Waals force.ce anaysis of our samples and investigated the variarions in the values of parameters obtained through fitting the theoretical impedance to the experimental impedance. The characters of the dielectric constant and the impedance showed abnormal variations for the 0.2 at K-doped NSBN ceramics, which we were able to interpret in terms of the variations in the number A-site vacancies with the K doping ratio. From these results, A-site vacancies are thought to be space charges that influence the ferroelectric properties of NSBN ceramics.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 1983

This study was carried out to obtain the basic data for the prevention of chronic poisoning by organic phosphorous pesticides and to estimate the normal range of plasma cholinesterase activity level for Korean agricultural workers. The 285 agricultural workers were randomly selected for the study in Jungup Gun, Jeonbug Province, 135 persons of them were tested in the period of pre-exposure of organophosphorous pesticides (April 1981) and rest of them were tested after exposure(August 1981). Cholinesterase activity levels were measured by the Micro-method of Takahashi Hiroshi. Major findings are as following: 1) There is significant difference in plasma cholinesterase activity levels between the pro-exposed and post exposed group(p > 0.01). Mean values of plasma cholinesterase activity levels were $7.60{\pm}1.74{\mu}M/20{\mu}{\ell}$/hr. in the pre-exposed group and $6.23{\pm}1.59{\mu}M/20{\mu}{\ell}$/hr. in the post-exposed group. 2) Plasma cholinesterase activity in Korean agricultural worker could be estimated $7.30-7.90{\mu}M/20{\mu}{\ell}$/hr. with 95% confidence interval.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 2015

The standard GARCH model imposing symmetry on the conditional variance, tends to fail in capturing some important features of the data. This paper, hence, introduces the models capturing asymmetric effect. They are the EGARCH model and the GJR model. We provide the systematic comparison of volatility models focusing on the asymmetric effect of news on volatility. Specifically, three diagnostic tests are provided: the sign bias test, the negative size bias test, and the positive size bias test. This paper shows that there is significant evidence of GARCH-type process in the data, as shown by the test for the Ljung-Box Q statistic on the squared residual data. The estimated unconditional density function for squared residual is clearly skewed to the left and markedly leptokurtic when compared with the standard normal distribution. The observation of volatility clustering is also clearly reinforced by the plot of the squared value of residuals of export volume and values. The unconditional variance of both export volumes and export value indicates that large shocks of either sign tend to be followed by large shocks, and small shocks of either sign tend to follow small shocks. The estimated export volume news impact curve for the GARCH also suggests that $h_t$ is overestimated for large negative and positive shocks. The conditional variance equation of the GARCH model for export volumes contains two parameters ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ that are insignificant, indicating that the GARCH model is a poor characterization of the conditional variance of export volumes. The conditional variance equation of the EGARCH model for export value, however, shows a positive sign of parameter ${\delta}$, which is contrary to our expectation, while the GJR model exhibits that parameters ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ are insignificant, and ${\delta}$ is marginally significant. That indicates that the asymmetric volatility models are poor characterization of the conditional variance of export value. It is concluded that the asymmetric EGARCH and GJR model are appropriate in explaining the volatility of export volume, while the symmetric standard GARCH model is good for capturing the volatility.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.135-153
• /
• 2003

In order to understand its origin and petrogenesis, petrochemical studies of major, trace elements, REE, and stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon from the Hongcheon Fe-REE deposits have been investigated. The Hongcheon Fe-REE deposit intruding into Precambrian metasedimentary rocks consists of magnetite, various carbonates such as ankerite, siderite, magnesite and strontianite, monazite, aegirine-augite, Na-amphibole, and sulfides. Compared with major elements abundances of typical ferro-carbonatites, the Hongcheon Fe-REE deposit is enriched in FeO and depleted in CaO with increasing of $SiO_2$, where $TiO_2$and $A1_2O_3$increased and CaO, FeO, MgO and $P_2O_5$ are slightly decreased, but those are rather scattered and their trends are somewhat ambiguous. V Ni, U and Rb slightly increasing with of $SiO_2$increase and scattering or no trends of other detected elements. Nb, Zr and Zn are depleted then the abundances of typical ferro-carbonatites (Woolley and Kempe, 1989). In rare earth elements a large enrichment of total REE (maximum 14.8 wt%) and LREE relative to chondrites and HREE depleted more then the values of ferro-carbontites therefore La/Lu ratios shows large abundances (max. 16,197). The results of stable isotopes of O and C from minerals of ankerite and strontianite and whole rocks represent studied rocks are from igneous carbonatitic melts. Although petrochemical characteristics of the Hongcheon Fe-REE deposits are somewhat different from normal ferro-carbonatites from the world, this discrepancy suggests another conclusion that petrochemical characteristic of the studied Fe-REE mineralized rocks are similar to those of phoscorites from Kovdor, Russia and Sokli, Finland showing the same petrochemical compositions described above.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.278-289
• /
• 2009

In the present study, we evaluated the target reliability indices and partial safety factors for caisson sliding of a vertical breakwater. The average of the reliability indices of existing breakwaters was proposed as the target reliability index for the breakwater of normal safety level. The target reliability indices of high and low safety levels were also proposed based on the analysis of breakwaters in Korea and Japan. The partial safety factors were then proposed for each safety level by averaging the values calculated for 12 breakwater crosssections in Korea. The appropriateness of the proposed partial safety factors was partly verified by showing that the reliability index calculated by using the present partial safety factors is located between those of mild and steep bottom slopes of JPHA(2007). The proposed partial safety factors were inversely used to calculate the caisson width and reliability index of existing breakwaters. While the reliability indices of existing breakwaters designed by the deterministic method show a large variation, those designed by the partial safety factor method show a small variation. This indicates that the partial safety factor method allows a consistent design for given target probability of failure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.303-303
• /
• 2017

Japanese agriculture has faced to several threats: aging and decrease of farmer population, global competition, and the risk of climate change as well as harsh and variable weather. On the other hands, the number of large scale farms is increasing, because farm lands have been being aggregated to fewer numbers of farms. Cost cutting, development of efficient ways to manage complicatedly scattered farm lands, maintaining yield and quality under variable weather conditions, are required to adapt to changing environments. Information and communications technology (ICT) would contribute to solve such problems and to create innovative technologies. Thus we have been developing an early warning and decision support system to reduce weather and climate risks for rice, wheat and soybean production in Japan. The concept and prototype of the system will be shown. The system consists of a weather data system (Agro-Meteorological Grid Square Data System, AMGSDS), decision support contents where information is automatically created by crop models and delivers information to users via internet. AMGSDS combines JMA's Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System (AMeDAS) data, numerical weather forecast data and normal values, for all of Japan with about 1km Grid Square throughout years. Our climate-smart system provides information on the prediction of crop phenology, created with weather forecast data and crop phenology models, as an important function. The system also makes recommendations for crop management, such as nitrogen-topdressing, suitable harvest time, water control, pesticide spray. We are also developing methods to perform risk analysis on weather-related damage to crop production. For example, we have developed an algorism to determine the best transplanting date in rice under a given environment, using the results of multi-year simulation, in order to answer the question "when is the best transplanting date to minimize yield loss, to avoid low temperature damage and to avoid high temperature damage?".