• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1099-1106
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• 2013

Tuta absoluta (Povolny, 1994) is a devastating moth to the Solanaceae plants. It is a challenging pest to control, especially on tomatoes. In this work, we studied the entomopathogenic activity of the Cry-forming ${\delta}$-endotoxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis strain KS and B. thuringiensis kurstaki reference strain HD1 against T. absoluta. These strains carried the cry2, cry1Ab, cry1Aa/cry1Ac, and cry1I genes, and KS also carried a cry1C gene. The ${\delta}$-endotoxins of KS were approximately twofold more toxic against the third instar larvae than those of HD1, as they showed lower 50% and 90% lethal concentrations (0.80 and 2.70 ${\mu}g/cm^2$ (${\delta}$-endotoxins/tomato leaf)) compared with those of HD1 (1.70 and 4.50 ${\mu}g/cm^2$) (p < 0.05). Additionally, the larvae protease extract showed at least six caseinolytic activities, which activated the KS and HD1 ${\delta}$-endotoxins, yielding the active toxins of about 65 kDa and the protease-resistant core of about 58 kDa. Moreover, the histopathological effects of KS and HD1 ${\delta}$-endotoxins on the larvae midgut consisted of an apical columnar cell vacuolization, microvillus damage, and epithelial cell disruption. These results showed that the KS strain could be a candidate for T. absoluta control.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.545-557
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to find risk factors in cultivating ginseng based on risk assessments and suggest safety measures for main risks. Background: Safety education and training is one of the practical and effective methods to prevent occupational accidents and injuries. In agricultural sector, there are few contents of safety education as compared to other industries. Especially, farm work has different cultivation characteristics according to the crops, so it needs special education materials for each crop. Among the various types of crops, ginseng contains various risk factors due to its long cultivating period and unique environment. Therefore, safety education material specified for ginseng is necessary to improve ginseng farmers' safety. Method: Risk assessment for cultivating tasks of ginseng was carried out through data obtained from various methods (site survey, interview, literature survey). To improve objectivity, the risk assessment was applied with 3-criteria (researcher estimate, interview, previous research results). Finally, the three high-risk tasks were selected and safety measures for those tasks were provided. Results: Three tasks, such as 'Mounting, maintenance and removing supports', 'Pest control' and 'Harvest', were selected as risky tasks among total tasks. (1) In 'Mounting' and maintenance and removing supports', the farmers found to be exposed to the risks of musculoskeletal disorders and accidents related to operating the tablet machine. (2) In 'Pest control', agrichemical poisoning, musculoskeletal disorders and hyperthermia were main risks. Finally, (3) In 'Harvest', the farmers are mainly exposed to the possibility of accidents of agricultural machines and risks of musculoskeletal disorders. Thus, it needs to apply appropriate safety measures to those risky tasks, such as safety guidelines, convenience equipment, protective kit, and so on. Conclusion: This study can be used as basic data for agricultural safety and expected that it would be useful for further study. In addition, the results of the research will be produced in the form of animation, which will enhance the safety consciousness for aged farmers. Application: The result of this study can be used in developing safety education materials for ginseng farmers which is essential to prevent occupational accidents and injuries among ginseng farmers.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.541-550
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• 2011

Objective: The objective of this study is to present varying cases of ergonomic improvements in equipments for agricultural work. Background: In Korean agricultural sector, many older people and females, who may be more vulnerable to musculoskeletal diseases than young males, are doing high stressful tasks such as manual materials tasks, harvesting, etc. For reducing the work stress of the farmers, the Korean government has been performing support projects to provide the farmers with agricultural implements specified for their crops. In the projects, ergonomics experts have participated and helped modify the equipments. Method: Fifty cases of equipment improvements, which were carried out in 33 farming organizations cultivating 13 different crops, were reviewed and presented by equipments and their parts. Results: In total, 283 cases of improvements for 12 equipments including 4-wheel, 1-wheel, and 3-wheel powered carts, grass cutter, conveyer, pest control machine, and so on, were presented. The improvements were also classified according to the ergonomic principles like compatibility, ease of use, safety and fitting to the anthropometry, etc. Frequencies of improvements by equipment and its part were the highest in carts and controls, respectively. Principles of safety and ease of use were adopted more frequently in improving equipments than others. Conclusion: The tables of examples of improvements of agricultural implements are main results of this study and the systematical summaries are expected to be widely used in the development of more improved agricultural implements. Application: The results could be used as practical guidelines in ergonomically developing and modifying agricultural implements by both the experts and non-experts in ergonomics. The improvements would contribute to reduction of stress in farm work, which result in increasing the level of safety and health of Korean agricultural society.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2020

Root-feeding Scarabaeidae, particularly white grubs are considered among the most harmful coleopteran insect pests in turfgrass. In this work, sixteen entomopathogenic fungal species were assayed against flower chafer beetle, Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-314 showed high virulence. The control ability of the isolate JEF-314 has been in detail tested for a model insect flower chafer beetle. Further analyses showed insect stage-dependent virulence where the fungal virulence was the highest against smaller instar larvae. Additionally, we confirmed that millet-based solid cultured granule was effective against the soil-dwelling larval stage. The isolate also showed a similar ability for a representative pest (Popillia spp.) in laboratory conditions. Our results clearly suggest a high potential of M. anisopliae JEF-314 to control the flower chafer beetle, possibly resulting in controlling of root-feeding white grubs in turfgrass. Based on the insect life cycle and susceptibility to the fungus, late spring and summer time would be the optimum time to apply JEF-314 granules for an effective control. Further characterization of the efficacy of the fungus under field conditions against the Scarabaeidae beetles might provide an efficient tool to control this beetle in an environment-friendly way.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.185-191
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• 2000

Pest insect control is dependent on about 200 insecticides that work by relatively few mechanisms. The targets they disrupt are mostly involved in the nervous system, respiratory chain, growth and development, or the gut. The major nerve targets are: acetylcholinesterase for the organophosphates and methylcarbamates; the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor for the neonicotinoids; the $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid receptor for several chlorinated hydrocarbons and fipronil; the voltage-gated sodium channel for DDT and pyrethroids. Selection of resistant strains often confers cross-resistance to some or all other insecticides working at the same site. The toxicological properties of different compounds acting on the same target are increasingly considered together, summating the risk even though the compounds are of quite diverse chemical types. Continuing attention is also being given to secondary targets not involved in the primary mechanism of toxicity but instead in side effects that must be considered in the overall safety evaluation. Research on insecticide targets is important in learning to keep up with resistance and changing concepts and policies on safety. These relationships are illustrated by recent studies in the Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.527-534
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• 2021

Background: Phenological studies are a prerequisite for accomplishing higher productivity and better crop quality in cultivated plants. However, there are no phenological studies on Panax ginseng that improve its production yield. This study aims to redefine the phenological growth stages of P. ginseng based on the existing Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie (BBCH) scale and proposes a disease control reference. Methods: This study was conducted at the Korea Ginseng Corporation Experiment Station in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Phenological observations were performed once weekly or twice monthly, based on the developmental stages. The existing BBCH scale with a three-digit code was used to redefine and update P. ginseng's phenological growth codes. Results: The phenological description is divided into eight principal growth stages: three for vegetative growth (perennating bud, aerial shoot, and root development), four for reproductive growth (reproductive organ development, flowering, fruit development, and fruit maturation), and one for senescence according to the extended BBCH scale. A total of 58 secondary growth stages were described within the eight principal growth stages. Under each secondary growth stage, four mesostages are also taken into account, which contains the distinct patterns of the phenological characteristics in ginseng varieties and the process of transplanting seedlings. A practical management program for disease control was also proposed by using the BBCH code and the phenological data proposed in this work. Conclusion: The study introduces an extended BBCH scale for the phenological research of P. ginseng.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 1985

Spraying method from the paddy-field levee is known to give insufficient penetration of the spray droplets to the rice stem of the densely grown plants, which is generally encountered at the last stage of rice growth. This study was intended to investigate the spraying system to solve this existing problem. As an approach, it was attempted to develop the boom-with-nozzle, between-the-row application system. Several types of nozzles and their different arrangements in the boom were tested in the field to measure the penetration-reaching distance and the uniformity of spray droplet distribution. The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1. Field experiments by the spraying method from the paddy-field levee showed to have practically no penetration of the spray droplets to the portion of the plant stem with the normal flow volume generally applied and thus need for improving present spraying method. 2. It was found that, considering both the uniformity of the spray droplet distribution and performance rate, the most efficient type of nozzle in the between-the-row boom-type spraying system was one that has core-insert hollow-cone with some clearance between the cone and tip. 3. When tested by applying the spraying method of between-the-row, the nozzle pressure did not affect the uniformity of spray droplet distribution. However, the nozzle pressure had a positive effect on the penetrating-reaching distance of the facing side of the rice stem and did not affect much on that of the opposite face of the stem. It was also found that the maximum pressure to affect the penetration-reaching distance was about $10kg/cm^2$. 4. The uniformity of the spray droplet distribution in the between-the-row system was greatly affected by the height and orientation of the nozzles in the boom. Based on experimental work for the different type of the boom-with-nozzle arrangements, it is recommended that the position of nozzle is set at about 0.45 m above the ground and two nozzles in the boom are oriented to be faced with each other with some angle such that the droplet stream from the nozzle would not directly face with each other.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2009

Insect cell cultures have become important tools in the production of biological substances for use in a variety of research, human and veterinary medicine, and pest control applications. These applications often require the introduction of foreign DNA into the cells and have generally used methods originally developed for use with human and other mammalian cell cultures. While these methods can be successfully employed, they are often less efficient with insect cells and frequently involve complex procedures or require specialized equipment. Even when they do work, they may require substantial modification because of differences in the culture medium or growth patterns of insect cells. In this study, We have optimized transfection conditions of Sf9 cell line using insect expression vector pIZT/V5-His which expresses green fluorescent protein effectively. Human stem cell factor (hSCF) is a glycoprotein that plays a key role in hematopoiesis acting both as a positive and negative regulator, often in synergy with other cytokines. It also plays a key role in mast cell development, gametogenesis, and melanogenesis. It can exist in membrane-bound form and in proteolytically released soluble form. As determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay performed, hSCF level in supernatant averaged 995ng/ml. The human hSCF was partially purified by immunoaffinity chromatography and analyzed with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The results show that the hSCF has N-linked carbohydrate and corresponds to the soluble form, at or about 223 amino acids in length. The findings suggest functional importance for soluble hSCF in cells.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) can acquire images with lower cost than conventional manned aircraft and commercial satellites. It has the advantage of acquiring high-resolution aerial images covering in the field area more than 50 ha. The purposes of this study is to develop the rice grain yield distribution using UAV. In order to develop a technology for estimating the rice yield using UAV images, time series UAV aerial images were taken at the paddy fields and the data were compared with the rice yield of the harvesting area for two rice varieties(Singdongjin, Dongjinchal). Correlations between the vegetation indices and rice yield were ranged from 0.8 to 0.95 in booting period. Accordingly, rice yield was estimated using UAV-derived vegetation indices($R^2=0.70$ in Sindongjin, $R^2=0.92$ in Donjinchal). It means that the rice yield estimation using UAV imagery can provide less cost and higher accuracy than other methods using combine with yield monitoring system and satellite imagery. In the future, it will be necessary to study a variety of information convergence and integration systems such as image, weather, and soil for efficient use of these information, along with research on preparing management practice work standards such as pest control and nutrient use based on UAV image information.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2012

Greenhouse whitefly, $Trialeurodes$ $Vaporariorum$, is the most important insect pest in environmental friendly tomato production. Natural enemies, $Nesidiocoris$ $tenuis$ and environmental friendly agricultural materials (EFAM) are major control agents in Korea. The aim of the present work is to evaluate release time of $N.$ $tenuis$ in controlling of $T.$ $vaporariorum$ and to select environmental friendly agricultural materials (EFAM) to suppress both $T.$ $vaporariorum$ and $N.$ $tenuis$ which if the density were high causing necrotic rings. Six EFAM selected to control of $Trialeurodes$ $Vaporariorum$ in three times spray with seven days intervals. Three EFAM showed high mortality 67.7-70.5% in spray after release plot but low in release after spray plot. It should be careful to spray with $N.$ $tenuis$. When $N.$ $tenuis$ were early release at 7 days after transplanting which before occurring and establishment of greenhouse whitefly, it could suppress the density. Extracts of bead tree + matrin, matrin 1, Chrysanthemum showed high mortality on $T.$ $vaporariorum$ adults and $N.$ $tenuis$. The results suggested that this three EFAM could be control agents of the damage of necrotic rings from $N.$ $tenuis$.