• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.928-935
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• 2008

The myostatin gene of seven important meat (Beltex (Australia), Beltex$\times$Huyang (F1), Meat and Multi-Prolific Chinese Merino Fine Wool, Meat Chinese Merino Fine Wool and Dorper (South Africa)) and non-meat (Huyang and Kazak) sheep breeds was analyzed to study the genetic basis of muscular hypertrophy (double muscling) phenotype in sheep. SNPs, four in regulatory regions and several in the introns in the myostatin gene, were identified, and the former four SNPs were used for further studies. Twelve haplotypes were predicted by PHASE program, of which four main haplotypes (1, 3, 7, 9) were present in 90% of the 364 sheep in the study. Haplotypes 1-4 were mainly present in meat breeds while haplotypes 7 and 9 dominated the non-meat breeds. The association between haplotypes and average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed among 116 sheep with production data, Haplo2 (CGAA) and Haplo8 (TGAA) were identified to have significant (p<0.05) effect on ADG by the model (JMP5.1 software) taking into account the effects of breed, family background, haplotype, birth weight and sex. ADG of these haplotype groups also correlated well (r = 0.82) with hypertrophic phenotype scores. In conclusion, the mutations -956 (T$\rightarrow$C), -41 (C$\rightarrow$A) and 6223 (G$\rightarrow$A) involved in Haplo2 and 8 may be associated with the double-muscling trait by influencing myostatin function and be suitable markers in selecting meat sheep.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.507-516
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• 2010

Stationary combustion sources such as coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, industrial manufacturing, etc. are recognized as major sources of mercury emissions. Due to rapid economic growth, zinc production in Korea has increased significantly during the last 30 years. Total zinc production in Korea exceeded 739,000 tons in 2008, and Korea is currently the third largest zinc producing country in the world. Previous studies have revealed that zinc smelting has become one of the largest single sectors of total mercury emissions in the World. However, studies on this sector are very limited, and a large gap in the knowledge regarding emissions from this sector needs to be bridged. In this paper, Hg emission measurements were performed to develop emission factors from zinc smelting process. Stack sampling and analysis were carried out utilizing the Ontario Hydro method and US EPA method 101A. Preliminary data showed that $Hg^0$ concentrations in the flue gas ranged from 4.56 to $9.90\;{\mu}g/m^3$ with an average of $6.40\;{\mu}g/m^3$, Hg(p) concentrations ranged from 0.03 to $0.09\;{\mu}g/m^3$ with an average of $0.04\;{\mu}g/m^3$, and RGM concentrations ranged from 0.23 to $1.17\;{\mu}g/m^3$ with an average of $6.40\;{\mu}g/m^3$. To date, emission factors of 7.5~8.0 g/ton for Europe, North America and Australia, and of 20 or 25 g/ton for Africa, Asia and South America are widely accepted by researchers. In this study, Hg emission factors were estimated using the data measured at the commercial facilities as emissions per ton of zinc product. Emission factors for mercury from zinc smelting pross ranged from 4.32 to 12.96 mg/ton with an average of 8.31 mg/ton. The emission factors that we obtained in this study are relatively low, considering Hg contents in the zinc ores and control technology in use. However, as these values are estimated by limited data of single measurement of each, the emission factor and total emission amount must be updated in future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1257-1257
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• 2001

Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy was used as a rapid method to measure the $^{o}Brix$ content and to discriminate between different must samples in terms of their fee amino nitrogen (FAN) values. FT-NIR spectroscopy was also used as a rapid method to discriminate between Chardonnay wine samples in terms of the status of the male-lactic fermentation (MLF). This was done by monitoring the conversion of malic to lactic acid and thereby determining whether MLF has started, is underway or has been completed followed by classification of the samples. Furthermore, FT-NIR spectroscopy was applied as a rapid method to discriminate between table wine samples in terms of the ethyl carbamate (EC) content. EC in wine can pose a health threat and need to be monitored by determining the EC content in relation to the regulatory limits set by the authorities. For each of the above mentioned parameters, $QUANT+^{TM}$ methods were built and calibrations derived and it was found that a very strong correlation existed in the sample set for the FT-NIR spectroscopic predictions of $^{o}Brix$ (r = 0.99, SECV = 0.306), but the correlations for the FAN (r = 0.61, SECV = 272.1), malic acid (r = 0.58, SECV = 1.06), lactic acid (r = 0.51, SECV = 1.14) and EC predictions (r = 0.47, SECV = 3.67) were not as good. Soft Independent Modeling by Class Analogy (SIMCA) diagnostics and validation was applied as a sophisticated discrimination method. The must samples could be classified in terms of their FAN values when SIMCA was applied, obtaining results with recognition rates exceeding 80%. When SIMCA diagnostics and validation were applied to determine the progress of conversion of malic to lactic acid and the EC content, again results with recognition rates exceeding 80% were obtained. The evaluation of the applicability of FT-NIR spectroscopy measurement of FAN, $^{o}Brix$ values, malic acid, lactic acid and EC content in must and wine shows considerable promise. FT-NIR spectroscopy has the potential to reduce the analytical times considerably in a range of measurements commonly used during the wine making process. Where conventional FT-NIR calibrations are not effective, SIMCA methods can be used as a discriminative method for rapid classification of samples. SIMCA can replace expensive, time-consuming, quantitative analytical methods, if not completely, at least to some extent, because in many processes it is only needed to know whether a specific cut off point has been reach or not or whether a sample belongs to a certain class or not.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.445-449
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• 2005

Present study was designed to evaluate the practical application of triethyl amine(TEA) injection for improving the collection efficiency of electrostatic precipitator(ESP) connected to a real operating plant. The major fuels used at the domestic power stations were bituminous coals imported from Australia, China, South Africa, and USA. Although the values of the electric resistance would be more or less different according to the type of the coals used, the unique electric resistance values of fly ash from the coals were mostly higher than $1{\times}10^{12}\;{\Omega}-cm$ and therefore, back corona problems were always expected to occur in the electrostatic precipitator. The particulates concentrations, smoke concentrations and their electric resistivity measured at the outlet of ESP, and the inspection of collection indicated that the injection of TEA improved the collection efficiency of particulate at collection plates of ESP. The electric resistance for, fly ash with the injection concentration of TEA 15 ppm(Purity 99.7%) was lowered to $2.1{\times}10^{11}\;{\Omega}-cm$ after injection from $1.9{\times}10^{12}\;{\Omega}-cm$ before injection. Under this condition, the dust emission content at the stack was reduced to approximately 80%, lowering the average outlet concentrations of particulates from $70\;mg/Sm^3$ to $14\;mg/Sm^3$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2017

Unfavorable weather and soil conditions reduce rice yield and land and water productivity, aggravating existing encounters of poverty and food insecurity. These conditions are foreseen to worsen with climate change and with the unceasing irrational human practices that progressively debilitate productivity despite global appeals for more food. Our understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses is advancing and is complex, involving numerous critical processes - each controlled by several genetic factors. Knowledge of the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in signaling, response and adaptation, and in some cases the genes involved, is advancing. Moreover, the genetic diversity being unveiled within cultivated rice and its wild relatives is providing ample resources for trait and gene discovery, and this is being scouted for rice improvement using modern genomics and molecular tools. Development of stress tolerant varieties is now being fast-tracked through the use of DNA markers and advanced breeding strategies. Large numbers of drought, submergence and salt tolerant varieties were commercialized over recent years in South and Southeast Asia and more recently in Africa. These varieties are making significant changes in less favorable areas, transforming lives of smallholder farmers - progress considered incredulous in the past. The stress tolerant varieties are providing assurance to farmers to invest in better management of their crops and the ability to adjust their cropping systems for even higher productivity and more income, sparking changes analogous to that of the first green revolution, which previously benefited only favorable irrigated and rainfed areas. New breeding tools using markers for multiple stresses made it possible to develop more resilient, higher yielding varieties to replace the aging and obsolete varieties still dominating these areas. Varieties with multiple stress tolerances are now becoming available, providing even better security for farmers and lessening their production risks even in areas affected by complex and overlapping stresses. The progress made in these less favorable areas triggered numerous favorable changes at the national and regional levels in several countries in Asia, including adjusting breeding and dissemination strategies to accelerate outreach and enabling changes at higher policy levels, creating a positive environment for faster progress. Exploiting the potential of these less productive areas for food production is inevitable, to meet the escalating global needs for more food and sustained production systems, at times when national resources are shrinking while demand for food is mounting. However, the success in these areas requires concerted efforts to make use of existing genetic resources for crop improvement and establishing effective evaluation networks, seed production systems, and seed delivery systems to ensure faster outreach and transformation.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.385-392
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• 2005

We developed an algorithm to efficiently detect streaks in survey images and made a performance test with YSTAR-NEOPAT images obtained by the 0.5m telescope stationed in South Africa. Fast moving objects whose apparent speeds exceed 10 arcsec/min are the main target of our algorithm; these include artificial satellites, space debris, and very fast Near-Earth Objects. Our algorithm, based on the outline shape of elongated sources employs a step of image subtraction in order to reduce the confusion caused by dense distribution of faint stars. It takes less than a second to find and characterize streaks present in normal astronomical images of 2K format. Comparison with visual inspection proves the efficiency and completeness of our automated detection algorithm. When applied to about 7,000 time-series images from YSTAR telescope, nearly 700 incidents of streaks are detected. Fast moving objects are identified by the presence of matching streaks in adjoining frames. Nearly all of confirmed fast moving objects turn out to be artificial satellites or space debris. Majority of streaks are however meteors and cosmic ray hits, whose identity is often difficult to classify.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.291-295
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• 2004

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) (RB) is a leguminous shrub native to the mountainous areas of the northwestern Cape Province in South Africa. RB tea infusions are the fermentation products of its leaves and fine sterns, and known to have a high antioxidative activity due to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic acids. We investigated the effects of RB tea on the alleviation of oxidative stress on cultured rat cortical neurons in a hypoxic model. Measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released into culture media revealed that RB increased cell viabilities in both normoxia (6-18%) and hypoxia (2-24%) dose-dependently (10-100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml) on 16 days in vitro (3 days after treatment). Visualization of cell morphology by expression of GFP-Hsc70 fusion protein showed that RB (50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml) reduced the average vacuolated soma from 55.4$\pm$4.59% (no RB addition) to 40.9$\pm$6.3% (RB addition) on 5 days after hypoxia. Our results proves efficacy of RB in the neuroprotection of hypoxic neurons and extend application for RB into the prevention and/or treatment of neuronal damages.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.199-208
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• 2016

We present photometric results of the δ Sct star V1162 Ori, which is extensively monitored for a total of 49 nights from mid-December 2014 to early-March 2015. The observations are made with three KMTNet (Korea Microlensing Telescope Network) 1.6 m telescopes installed in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. Multiple frequency analysis is applied to the data and resulted in clear detection of seven frequencies without an alias problem: five known frequencies and two new ones with small amplitudes of 1.2-1.7 mmag. The amplitudes of all but one frequency are significantly different from previous results, confirming the existence of long-term amplitude changes. We examine the variations in pulsation timings of V1162 Ori for about 30 years by using the times of maximum light obtained from our data and collected from the literatures. The O − C (Observed minus Calculated) timing diagram shows a combination of a downward parabolic variation with a period decreasing rate of (1/P)dP/dt = −4.22 × 10⁻⁶ year⁻¹ and a cyclic change with a period of about 2780 days. The most probable explanation for this cyclic variation is the light-travel-time effect caused by an unknown binary companion, which has a minimum mass of 0.69 M_⊙. V1162 Ori is the first δ Sct-type pulsating star of which the observed fast period decrease can be interpreted as an evolutionary effect of a pre-main sequence star, considering its membership of the Orion OB 1c association.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.231-240
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• 2008

In respect complication, group and period, the foreign direct investment of korea is composed of various factors. This paper studies focus on estimating the determinants of foreign direct investment of korea. The region of analysis consist of 7 groups, that is, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, Oceania, Africa, Middle East. Analyzing period be formed over a 67 point(2002. 6${\sim}$2007. 12). In this paper dependent variable setting up an amount of foreign direct investment, explanatory(independent) variables composed of gross domestic product, a balance of current accounts, the foreign exchange rate, employment to population ratio, an average of the rate of operation(the manufacturing industry), consumer price index, the amount of export, wages(a service industry). For an actual proof analysis, LIMDEP 8.0 software, analysis model is random effect in TWECR The result of estimating the determinants of foreign direct investment of korea provides empirical evidences of significance positive relationships between employment to population ratio and wages(a service industry). However this study provides empirical evidences of significance negative relationships between the foreign exchange rate, censurer price index and the amount of export. The explanatory variables, that is, an average of the rate of operation(the manufacturing industry), gross domestic product and a balance of current accounts, are non-significance variables.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.88-92
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• 2006

Nerine was originated from South Africa and around 30 kinds of species are distributed in worldwide. In present study we have characterized the division methods and growing conditions for the bulb propagation of Nerine. Result indicated that new bulb formation, and growth of N. bowdenii cultivars was better after dormancy stage compared to post-harvest and dormancy stages, under twin-scale method at $20^{\circ}C$ Similarly, new bulb tissue density was higher at $20^{\circ}C$ compared to other temperatures. Moreover, N. bowdenii 'Favourite' exhibited better growth than N. bowdenii 'Stepanii' and vermiculite was found to be most suitable growing medium for Nerine bulb propagation.