• Title/Summary/Keyword: Tolerance control

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Effect of Hog Millet Supplementation on Hepatic Steatosis and Insulin Resistance in Mice Fed a High-fat Diet (고지방식이로 유도한 지방간 마우스에서 기장 첨가식이가 지방간 및 인슐린 저항성에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Mi-Young;Jang, Hwan-Hee;Lee, Jin-Young;Lee, Young-Min;Kim, Jae-Hyun;Park, Jae-Hak;Park, Dong-Sik
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.501-509
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    • 2012
  • The dietary intake of whole grains is known to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In our previous study, hog millet (HM, $Panicum$ $miliaceum$ L.) water extract showed the highest anti-lipogenic activity among nine cereal types in 3T3-L1 cells. In this study, the effect of hog millet water extract on hepatic steatosis and lipid metabolism in mice fed a high fat diet was investigated. Mice were fed a normal-fat diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD containing 1% or 2% (w/w) HM for 7 weeks. Body weight and food intake were monitored during the study period. Insulin resistance by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), fasting lipid profile, hepatic fatty acid metabolism-related gene expression determined, and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IGTT) were performed at the study's end. The results indicated that 1% and 2% HM diets effectively decreased liver weights, blood TG and T-cholesterol levels (p<0.05), while the HDL-cholesterol level was increased (p<0.05) compared to HFD-induced steatotsis mice. Hepatic lipogenic-related gene ($PPAR{\alpha}$, L-FABP, and SCD1) expressions decreased, whereas lipolysis- related gene (CPT1) expression increased in animals fed the 2% PME diet (p<0.05). In addition, mice fed 1% or 2% HM diet had markedly decreased IGTT and HOMA-IR, compared to the those of the HFD-induced hepatic steatosis control group (p<0.05). These results indicated that HM inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation by regulating fatty acid metabolism, and suggested that HM is useful in the chemoprevention or treatment of high fat-induced hepatic steatosis and hepatic steatosis-related disorders including hyperlipidemia, glucose sensitivity, and insulin resistance.

Effect of Flooding Treatment on the Desalting Efficiency and the Growth of Soiling and Forage Crops in a Sandy Soil of the Iweon Reclaimed Tidal Land in Korea (이원간척지 사질 염류토양의 담수제염처리가 제염효과와 녹비.사료작물의 생육에 미치는 영향)

  • Sohn, Yong-Man;Kim, Hyun-Tea;Jeon, Geon-Yeong;Song, Jae-Do;Lee, Jae-Hwang;Park, Moo-Eon
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.43 no.1
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    • pp.16-24
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    • 2010
  • Effect of flooding on the desalting efficiency and the growth of sudan grass, barnyard grass, sesbania and corn was studied in a sandy soil of the Iweon reclaimed tidal land. Flooding plots were treated by 400 (one time flooding), 800 (two times flooding), and 1,200 mm(three times flooding) of water, respectively, and then soil salinities of the treated plots were compared with salinity of the control plot (not flooded) for estimation of desalting effect. Desalting ratio of 1,200 mm treatment was 78.3% for depth 0-20 cm, 70.5% for depth 20-40 cm and 60.8% for depth 40-60 cm, and then the soil salinity reached at 3~6 dS $m^{-1}$. Consequently, it was considered that sandy saline soil was satisfactorily desalted for upland crops to be cultivated by 1,200 mm flooding, but insufficiently desalted by 400 mm and 800 mm flooding because of high salinity ranged 5~14 dS $m^{-1}$ even after flooding treatment. In addition, it was estimated that soil salinity should be controled lower than 7.7 dS $m^{-1}$ in order to obtain more than 80%of crop emergence when four crops are simultaneously cultivated by inter- or mixed cropping in a field. Dry matter yields (kg $10a^{-1}$) was 1,068 for sudan grass, 696for barnyard grass, 1,426 for sesbania, and 1,164 for corn by 1,200 mm flooding treatment, but only 46.8~74.3% by 800 mm flooding treatment and 2.9~25.5% by 400 mm flooding treatment. Therefore, it is concluded that the flooding treatment more than 1,200 mm is necessary for satisfactory desalinization in order for the low salt tolerance crops to be cultivated in the sandy reclaimed tidal land.

Effects of Puffed and Fermented Red Ginseng on Blood Glucose-related Biomarkers in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats (팽화발효홍삼이 Streptozotocin 유발 당뇨쥐의 혈당관련 지표에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Ju-Hun;Sung, Ki-Seung;Kim, Sung-Soo;Shim, Gun-Sub;Han, Chan-Kyu
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.41 no.5
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    • pp.630-637
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    • 2012
  • This study was performed to investigate the effects of puffed and fermented red ginseng on blood glucose-related biomarkers in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley diabetic rats were orally injected with 0.85% NaCL as a diabetic control (DC), 300 mg/kg general red ginseng (RG), 300 mg/kg puffing red ginseng fermented by mixed strain culture of $Bifidobacterium$ $breve$ and $Lactobacillus$ $delbrueckii$ (BL), and 300 mg/kg puffing red ginseng fermented by $Enterococcus$ $faecalis$ (EF) for 5 weeks. The blood glucose level of group BL was significantly lower maintained than in groups DC and RG for the experimental period (p<0.05). It was also significantly lower than in groups DC, RG, and EF at the 5th week (p<0.05). In the oral glucose tolerance test, the blood glucose of group BL was maintained the lowest level (p<0.05), and the area under the blood glucose curve (AUC) was also significantly lower in group BL than in group DC (p<0.05). The fasting blood glucose and insulin levels after the experiment were significantly low in group BL (p<0.05), and the HOMA-IR was more significantly low in groups BL and EF than in group DC (p<0.05). Also, the HbA1c content of group BL was significantly low than in groups DC and RG (p<0.05). The serum TC level was significantly decreased in groups RG, BL, and EF than in group DC (p<0.05), and the LDL-C content was significantly low in group BL than in group DC (p<0.05). From the findings, it was shown that the puffed and fermented red ginseng made using a mixed strain culture of $B.$ $breve$ and $L.$ $delbrueckii$ could improve blood glucose-related biomarkers.

Varietal Response of Tobacco Plants Through Tissue Culture to Butachlor and Bialaphos Herbicides (조직배양(組織培養)에 의한 제초제(除草劑) Butachlor와 Bialaphos에 대(對)한 담배의 품종간반응(品種間反應))

  • Bae, Y.Z.;Kim, K.U.;Jeong, H.J.
    • Korean Journal of Weed Science
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.53-58
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    • 1988
  • This study was carried out to determine effect of butachlor [N.-(buthoxymethyl)-2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl) acetamide] and bialaphos [2-amino-4(hydroxy)(methyl) phosphionyl] butyryl-alanylalanine sodium salt on the germination of tobacco seed, induction and growth of callus from tobacco. Further, fatty acids and ammonia content of tobacco calli were determined. Bialaphos had no effect on tobacco seed germination, but the growth of seedling was markedly affected by an application of 10 ppm bialaphos. However, regardless of varieties tested, tobacco seed germination was completely inhibited by $5{\times}10^{-5}M$ of butachlor. At an application of $5{\times}10^{-5}M$ butachlor, tobacco seeds were to some extent germinated and showed further growth. Hyangcho among varieties tested, showed the most tolerant response to butachlor. In induction of callus from various tobacco varieties and their growth, aromatic type of tobacco varieties exhibited the most tolerance against bialaphos. However, no distinct varietal differences were determined in the treatment of butachlor. The major fatty acids identified in tobacco calli were palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid. No marked difference in terms of fatty acids was observed among tobacco varieties used, but it was observed that there was the higher ratio of quantity in unsaturated fatty acids over saturated one, bialaphos treatment accumulated about 9 times higher ammonia content than that of the untreated control, giving an evidence that bialaphos might inhibit glutamine synthetase activity.

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Monitoring of Sulfur Dioxide, Carotenoid Contents and Bacillus cereus Contamination of Dried Sweet Potato in Circulating Dried Agricultural Products (국내 유통 건조 농산물 중 고구마 말랭이의 이산화황, 카로티노이드 함량 및 바실러스 세레우스오염 정도 조사)

  • Lee, Hyeon Min;Park, Hyun Ji;Kim, Ji Na;Shin, Weon Sun;Kim, Eun Mi
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.32 no.6
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    • pp.477-484
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    • 2017
  • This study was conducted to investigate the content of sulfur dioxide, carotenoids and the degree of contamination of Bacillus cereus in 33 kinds of dried sweet potato from domestic mainly dried agricultural products in Korea. According to the characteristics of dried sweet potato samples, it was classified into four clusters and as a result of analyzing the contents of sulfur dioxide, carotenoids and the degree of contamination B. cereus was no significant difference among the clusters. The detection ranges of residual sulfur dioxide from 33 dried sweet potatoes ranged from 0.38 to 28.16 mg/kg, three cases (9.09%) were detected at the reference level of 10 mg/kg or more. But no samples exceeding 30 mg/kg, the tolerance level of sulfur dioxide in dried sweet potatoes were detected. Since dried sweet potato does not have a standard for carotenoids, when comparing the national and international standards of carotenoids, the range of detection of carotenoids in dried sweet potato was $46{\sim}2,663{\mu}g$/100 g, which was within the reference range of $0{\sim}9,826{\mu}g$/100 g. In principle colonies suspected to be B. cereus in dried sweet potato were not detected. In 7 cases (21.21%), there were detected in the range of 0.05~1.59 log CFU/g but not more than 3 log CFU/g as the reference value. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data to establish quality standard for dried sweet potatoes. In order to control the quality of dried sweet potatoes in domestic market, raw materials, drying method and packaging after distribution, it is necessary to maintain and maintain the process steadily.

Studies on the Development of Acid Tolerant and Superior Nitrogen Fixation Symbionts for Pasture on Hilly Land -II. Selection of Acid Tolerant R. meliloti in virto and Inoculation Effect in Soils (야산(野山) 목초지용(牧草地用) 내산성(耐酸性) 우수(優秀) 질소고정균주(窒素固定菌株) 개발(開發) -II. 내산성(耐酸性) R. meliloti 의 기내선발(器內選拔) 및 토양(土壤) 접종효과(接種效果))

  • Kang, Ui-Gum;Choi, Ju-Hyeon;Cho, Kang-Jin;Jung, Yeun-Tae;Cho, Moo-Je
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.72-77
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    • 1989
  • A study was conducted to obtain acid tolerant and superior Rhizobium meliloti strain for alfalfa on hilly acid soils. With host plant, eight isolates of R, meliloti selected in the vicinity of Milyang were evaluated for their ability to establish symbiotic effectiveness in acidified tube culture medium and vermiculite pot with different urea levels. Among isolates "YA03" was characterized for the ability to manifest to acid tolerance in three different soils of which pH were 5.0, 6.0, and 7.5. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1. Of eight isolates "YA03" and "YA09" performed nodule in the tube medium of pH5.0, and in the symbiotic effectiveness YA03 was superior to others. 2. Alfalfa growth and $N_2-fixing$ activity by the inoculation of "YA03" isolate were better than others at the level of urea 1.25mM as well as nonurea. 3. Application of urea with inoculation of "YA03" islate to alfalfa was one of the effective factors for symbiotic effectiveness. 4. In infertile soil of pH5.0 inoculation of R. meliloti "YA03" to alfalfa caused the increase of shoot dry matter of 320% as compared to the control, and the total amount of yield was 131% as much yield in moderate fertile soil of pH7.5. Finally R. meliloti "YA03" isolate was selected as an acid tolerant strain.

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Possibility of Using Non-selective Herbicides as Desiccants for Improving Soybean Harvest Efficiency (콩 수확 효율 증진을 위한 건조제로서 비선택성 제초제의 활용 가능성)

  • Won, Ok Jae;Hong, Seo yeon;Suh, Eun Ji;Park, Jae-Sung;Lee, Hong Seok;Park, Jin-Ki;Ryu, Jong-Soo;Han, Won-Young;Han, Kil Su;Song, Duk Young
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.66 no.4
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    • pp.358-364
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    • 2021
  • This study was conducted to select a desiccant and determine its concentration for safe usage to improve the harvesting efficiency of soybeans. Soybeans were treated with a desiccant (non-selective herbicide) before and after the maturation stage. The drying effect of the desiccant was higher at earlier treatment times than at the maturation stage, but the difference was not statistically significant. The higher efficacy might be related to the drying process of the leaves and stems, with most of the leaves and stems having already been dried by the time of hand harvesting. Desiccant treatments had no adverse effects on soybean yield, weight of 100 grains, seed quality, or seed germination rate compared with the untreated control. Pesticide residue analysis showed minimum residue concentration to be lower than the tolerance level of pesticide residues. In conclusion, it was confirmed that the desiccant was effective in drying soybean, and that there was no damage to the quality of soybean seeds. In addition to the drying effect, the dessicant treatment also facilitates the removal of weeds that interfere with the mechanical harvest and improves harvesting efficiency through the drying of the growth imbalanced individual. The desiccant treatment is expected to shorten the mechanical harvesting time by 1-2 weeks. It is thought that the selection of the proper cultivation period for other crops after soybean cultivation will be more advantageous.

Studies on Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. isolated from Magnolia kobus DC. in Korea (목련(Magnolia kobus DC.)에서 분리한 흰비단병균(Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.)에 관한 연구)

  • Kim Kichung
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.13 no.3 s.20
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    • pp.105-133
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    • 1974
  • The present study is an attempt to solve the basic problems involved in the control of the Sclerotium disease. The biologic stranis of Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc., pathogen of Sclerotium disease of Magnolia kobus, were differentiated, and the effects of vitamins, various nitrogen and carbon sources on its mycelial growth and sclerotial production have been investigated. In addition the relationship between the cultural filtrate of Penicillium sp. and the growth of Sclerotium rolfsii, the tolerance of its mycelia or sclerotia to moist heat or drought and to Benlate (methyl-(butylcarbamoy 1)-2-benzimidazole carbamate), Tachigaren (3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole) and other chemicals were also clarified. The results are summarizee as follows: 1. There were two biologic strains, Type-l and Type-2 among isolates. They differed from each other in the mode of growth and colonial appearance on the media, aversion phenomenon and in their pathogenicity. These two types had similar pathogenicity to the Magnolia kobus and Robinia pseudoacasia, but behaved somewhat differently to the soybaen and cucumber, the Type-l being more virulent. 2. Except potassium nitrite, sodium nitrite and glycine, all of the 12 nitrogen sources tested were utilized for the mycelial growth and sclerotial production of this fungus when 10r/l of thiamine hydrochloride was added in the culture solution. Considering the forms of nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen was more available than nitrate nitrogen for the growth of mycelia, but nitrate nitrogen was better for sclerotia formation. Organic nitrogen showed different availabilities according to compounds used. While nitrite nitrogen was unavailable for both mycelial growth and sclerotial formation whether thiamine hydrochlioride was added or not. 3. Seven kinds of carbon sources examined were not effective in general, as long as thiamine hydrochloride was not added. When thiamine hydrochloride was added, glucose and saccharose exhibited mycelial growth, while rnaltose and soluble starch gave lesser, and xylose, lactose, and glycine showed no effect at all,. In the sclerotial production, all the tested carbon sources, except lactose, were effective, and glucose, maltose, saccharose, and soluble starch gave better results. 4. At the same level of nitrogen, the amount of mycelial growth increased as more carbon Sources were applied but decreased with the increase of nitrogen above 0.5g/1. The amount of sclerotial production decreased wi th the increase of carbon sources. 5. Sclerotium rolfsii was thiamine-defficient and required thiamine 20r/l for maximun growth of mycelia. At a higher concentration of more than 20r/l, however, mycelial growth decreased as the concentration increased, and was inhibited at l50r/l to such a degree of thiamine-free. 6. The effect of the nitrogen sources on the mycelial growth under the presence of thiamine were recognized in the decreasing order of $NH_4NO_3,\;(NH_4)_2SO_4,\;asparagine,\;KNO_3$, and their effects on the sclerotial production in the order of $KNO_3,\;NH_4NO_3,\;asparagine,\;(NH_4)_2SO_4$. The optimum concentration of thiamine was about 12r/l in $KNO_3$ and about 16r/l in asparagine for the growth of mycelia; about 8r/l in $KNO_3$ and $NH_4NO_3$, and 16r/l in asparagine for the production of sclerotia. 7. After the fungus started to grow, the pH value of cultural filtrate rapidly dropped to about 3.5. Hereafter, its rate slowed down as the growth amount increased and did not depreciated below pH2.2. 8. The role of thiamine in the growth of the organism was vital. If thiamine was not added, the combination of biotin, pyridoxine, and inositol did not show any effects on the growth of the organism at all. Equivalent or better mycelial growth was recognized in the combination of thiamine+pyridoxine, thiamine+inositol, thiamine+biotin+pyridoxine, and thiamine+biotin+pyridoxine+inositol, as compared with thiamine alone. In the combinations of thiamine+biotin and thiamine+biotin+inositol, mycelial growth was inhibited. Sclerotial production in dry weight increased more in these combinations than in the medium of thiamine alone. 9. The stimulating effects of the Penicillium cultural filtrate on the mycelial growth was noticed. It increased linearly with the increase of filtrate concentration up to 6-15 ml/50ml basal medium solution. 10. $NH_4NO_3$. as a nitrogen source for mycelial growth was more effective than asparasine regardless of the concentration of cultural filtrate. 11. In the series of fractionations of the cultural filtrate, mycelial growth occured in unvolatile, ether insoluble cation-adsorbed or anion-unadsorbed substance fractions among the fractions of volatile, unvolatile acids, ether soluble organic acids, ether insoluble, cation-adsorbed, cation-unadsorbed, anion-adsorbed and anion-unadsorbed. and anion-un-adsorbed substance tested. Sclerotia were produced only in cation-adsorbed fraction. 12. According to the above results, it was assumed that substances for the mycelial growth and sclerotial formation and inhibitor of sclerotial formation were include::! in cultural filtrate and they were quite different from each other. I was further assumed that the former two substances are un volatile, ether insotuble, and adsorbed to cation-exchange resin, but not adsorbed to anion, whereas the latter is unvolatile, ether insoluble, and not adsorbed to cation or anion-exchange resin. 13. Seven amino acids-aspartic acid, cystine, glysine, histidine, Iycine, tyrosine and dinitroaniline-were detected in the fractions adsorbed to cation-exchange resin by applying the paper chromatography improved with DNP-amino acids. 14. Mycelial growth or sclerotial production was not stimulated significantly by separate or combined application of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, cystine, histidine, and glysine. Tyrosine gave the stimulating effect when applied .alone and when combined with other amino acids in some cases. 15. The tolerance of sclerotia to moist heat varied according to their water content, that was, the dried sclerotia are more tolerant than wet ones. The sclerotia harvested directly from the media, both Type-1 and Type-2, lost viability within 5 minutes at $52^{\circ}C$. Sclerotia dried for 155 days at$26^{\circ}C$ had more tolerance: sclerotia of Type-l were killed in 15 mins. at $52^{\circ}C$ and in 5 mins. at $57^{\circ}C$, and sclerotia of Type-2 were killed in 10 mins. both at $52^{\circ}C$ or $57^{\circ}C$. 16. Cultural sclerotia of both strains maintained good germinability for 132 days at$26^{\circ}C$. Natural sclerotia of them stored for 283 days under air dry condition still had good germinability, even for 443 days: type-l and type-2 maintained $20\%$ and $26.9\%$ germinability, respectively. 17. The tolerance to low temperature increased in the order of mycelia, felts and sclerotia. Mycelia completely lost the ability to grow within 1 week at $7-8^{\circ}C$> below zero, while mycelial felts still maintained the viability after .3 weeks at $7-20^{\circ}C$ below zero, and sclerotia were even more tolerant. 18. Sclerotia of type-l and type-2 were killed when dipped into the $0.05\%$ solution of mercury chloride for 180 mins. and 240 mins. respectively: and in the $0.1\%$ solution, Type-l for 60 mins. and Type-2 for 30 mins. In the $0.125\%$ uspulun solution, Type-l sclerotia were killed in 180 mins., and those of Type-2 were killed for 90 mins. in the$0.125\%$solution. Dipping into the $5\%$ copper sulphate solution or $0.2\%$ solution of Ceresan lime or Mercron for 240 mins. failed to kill sclerotia of either Type-l or Type-2. 19. Inhibitory effect on mycelial growth of Benlate or Tachi-garen in the liquid culture increased as the concentration increased. 6 days after application, obvious inhibitory effects were found in all treatments except Benlate 0.5ppm; but after 12 days, distingushed diflerences were shown among the different concentrations. As compared with the control, mycelial growth was inhibited by $66\%$ at 0.5ppm and by $92\%$ at 2.0ppm of Benlate, and by$54\%$ at 1ppm and about $77\%$ at 1.5ppm or 2.0ppm of Tachigaren. The mycelial growth was inhibited completely at 500ppm of both fungicides, and the formation of sclerotia was checked at 1,000ppm of Benlate ant at 500ppm or 1,000ppm of Tachigaren. 20. Consumptions of glucose or ammonium nitrogen in the culture solution usually increased with the increment of mycelial growth, but when Benlate or Tachigaren were applied, consumptions of glucose or ammonium nitrogen were inhibited with the increment of concentration of the fungicides. At the low concentrations of Benlate (0.5ppm or 1ppm), however, ammonium nitrogen consumption was higher than that of the ontrol. 21. The amount of mycelia produced by consuming 1mg of glucose or ammonium nitrogen in the culture solution was lowered markedly by Benlate or Tachigaren. Such effects were the severest on the third day after their treatment in all concentrations, and then gradually recovered with the progress of time. 22. In the sand culture, mycelial growth was not inhibited. It was indirectly estimated by the amount of $CO_2$ evolved at any concentrations, except in the Tachigaren 100mg/g sand in which mycelial growth was inhibited significantly. Sclerotial production was completely depressed in the 10mg/g sand of Benlate or Tachigaren. 23. There was no visible inhibitory effect on the germination of sclerotia when the sclerotia were dipped in the solution 0.1, 1.0, 100, 1.000ppm of Benlate or Tachigaren for 10 minutes or even 20 minutes.

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The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Corporate Credit Ratings (고객만족이 기업의 신용평가에 미치는 영향)

  • Jeon, In-soo;Chun, Myung-hoon;Yu, Jung-su
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2012
  • Nowadays, customer satisfaction has been one of company's major objectives, and the index to measure and communicate customer satisfaction has been generally accepted among business practices. The major issues of CSI(customer satisfaction index) are three questions, as follows: (a)what level of customer satisfaction is tolerable, (b)whether customer satisfaction and company performance has positive causality, and (c)what to do to improve customer satisfaction. Among these, the second issue is recently attracting academic research in several perspectives. On this study, the second issue will be addressed. Many researchers including Anderson have regarded customer satisfaction as core competencies, such as brand equity, customer equity. They want to verify following causality "customer satisfaction → market performance(market share, sales growth rate) → financial performance(operating margin, profitability) → corporate value performance(stock price, credit ratings)" based on the process model of marketing performance. On the other hand, Insoo Jeon and Aeju Jeong(2009) verified sequential causality based on the process model by the domestic data. According to the rejection of several hypotheses, they suggested the balance model of marketing performance as an alternative. The objective of this study, based on the existing process model, is to examine the causal relationship between customer satisfaction and corporate value performance. Anderson and Mansi(2009) proved the relationship between ACSI(American Customer Satisfaction Index) and credit ratings using 2,574 samples from 1994 to 2004 on the assumption that credit rating could be an indicator of a corporate value performance. The similar study(Sangwoon Yoon, 2010) was processed in Korean data, but it didn't confirm the relationship between KCSI(Korean CSI) and credit ratings, unlike the results of Anderson and Mansi(2009). The summary of these studies is in the Table 1. Two studies analyzing the relationship between customer satisfaction and credit ratings weren't consistent results. So, in this study we are to test the conflicting results of the relationship between customer satisfaction and credit ratings based on the research model considering Korean credit ratings. To prove the hypothesis, we suggest the research model as follows. Two important features of this model are the inclusion of important variables in the existing Korean credit rating system and government support. To control their influences on credit ratings, we included three important variables of Korean credit rating system and government support, in case of financial institutions including banks. ROA, ER, TA, these three variables are chosen among various kinds of financial indicators since they are the most frequent variables in many previous studies. The results of the research model are relatively favorable : R2, F-value and p-value is .631, 233.15 and .000 respectively. Thus, the explanatory power of the research model as a whole is good and the model is statistically significant. The research model has good explanatory power, the regression coefficients of the KCSI is .096 as positive(+) and t-value and p-value is 2.220 and .0135 respectively. As a results, we can say the hypothesis is supported. Meanwhile, all other explanatory variables including ROA, ER, log(TA), GS_DV are identified as significant and each variables has a positive(+) relationship with CRS. In particular, the t-value of log(TA) is 23.557 and log(TA) as an explanatory variables of the corporate credit ratings shows very high level of statistical significance. Considering interrelationship between financial indicators such as ROA, ER which include total asset in their formula, we can expect multicollinearity problem. But indicators like VIF and tolerance limits that shows whether multicollinearity exists or not, say that there is no statistically significant multicollinearity in all the explanatory variables. KCSI, the main subject of this study, is a statistically significant level even though the standardized regression coefficients and t-value of KCSI is .055 and 2.220 respectively and a relatively low level among explanatory variables. Considering that we chose other explanatory variables based on the level of explanatory power out of many indicators in the previous studies, KCSI is validated as one of the most significant explanatory variables for credit rating score. And this result can provide new insights on the determinants of credit ratings. However, KCSI has relatively lower impact than main financial indicators like log(TA), ER. Therefore, KCSI is one of the determinants of credit ratings, but don't have an exceedingly significant influence. In addition, this study found that customer satisfaction had more meaningful impact on corporations of small asset size than those of big asset size, and on service companies than manufacturers. The findings of this study is consistent with Anderson and Mansi(2009), but different from Sangwoon Yoon(2010). Although research model of this study is a bit different from Anderson and Mansi(2009), we can conclude that customer satisfaction has a significant influence on company's credit ratings either Korea or the United State. In addition, this paper found that customer satisfaction had more meaningful impact on corporations of small asset size than those of big asset size and on service companies than manufacturers. Until now there are a few of researches about the relationship between customer satisfaction and various business performance, some of which were supported, some weren't. The contribution of this study is that credit rating is applied as a corporate value performance in addition to stock price. It is somewhat important, because credit ratings determine the cost of debt. But so far it doesn't get attention of marketing researches. Based on this study, we can say that customer satisfaction is partially related to all indicators of corporate business performances. Practical meanings for customer satisfaction department are that it needs to actively invest in the customer satisfaction, because active investment also contributes to higher credit ratings and other business performances. A suggestion for credit evaluators is that they need to design new credit rating model which reflect qualitative customer satisfaction as well as existing variables like ROA, ER, TA.

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A Study on Startups' Dependence on Business Incubation Centers (창업보육서비스에 따른 입주기업의 창업보육센터 의존도에 관한 연구)

  • Park, JaeSung;Lee, Chul;Kim, JaeJon
    • Korean small business review
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    • v.31 no.2
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    • pp.103-120
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    • 2009
  • As business incubation centers (BICs) have been operating for more than 10 years in Korea, many early stage startups tend to use the services provided by the incubating centers. BICs in Korea have accumulated the knowledge and experience in the past ten years and their services have been considerably improved. The business incubating service has three facets : (1) business infrastructure service, (2) direct service, and (3) indirect service. The mission of BICs is to provide the early stage entrepreneurs with the incubating service in a limited period time to help them grow strong enough to survive the fierce competition after graduating from the incubation. However, the incubating services sometimes fail to foster the independence of new startup companies, and raise the dependence of many companies on BICs. Thus, the dependence on BICs is a very important factor to understand the survival of the incubated startup companies after graduation from BICs. The purpose of this study is to identify the main factors that influence the firm's dependence on BICs and to characterize the relationships among the identified factors. The business incubating service is a core construct of this study. It includes various activities and resources, such as offering the physical facilities, legal service, and connecting them with outside organizations. These services are extensive and take various forms. They are provided by BICs directly or indirectly. Past studies have identified various incubating services and classify them in different ways. Based on the past studies, we classify the business incubating service into three categories as mentioned above : (1) business infrastructure support, (2) direct support, and (3) networking support. The business infrastructure support is to provide the essential resources to start the business, such as physical facilities. The direct support is to offer the business resources available in the BICs, such as human, technical, and administrational resources. Finally, the indirect service was to support the resource in the outside of business incubation center. Dependence is generally defined as the degree to which a client firm needs the resources provided by the service provider in order to achieve its goals. Dependence is generated when a firm recognizes the benefits of interacting with its counterpart. Hence, the more positive outcomes a firm derives from its relationship with the partner, the more dependent on the partner the firm must inevitably become. In business incubating, as a resident firm is incubated in longer period, we can predict that her dependence on BICs would be stronger. In order to foster the independence of the incubated firms, BICs have to be able to manipulate the provision of their services to control the firms' dependence on BICs. Based on the above discussion, the research model for relationships between dependence and its affecting factors was developed. We surveyed the companies residing in BICs to test our research model. The instrument of our study was modified, in part, on the basis of previous relevant studies. For the purposes of testing reliability and validity, preliminary testing was conducted with firms that were residing in BICs and incubated by the BICs in the region of Gwangju and Jeonnam. The questionnaire was modified in accordance with the pre-test feedback. We mailed to all of the firms that had been incubated by the BICs with the help of business incubating managers of each BIC. The survey was conducted over a three week period. Gifts (of approximately ₩10,000 value) were offered to all actively participating respondents. The incubating period was reported by the business incubating managers, and it was transformed using natural logarithms. A total of 180 firms participated in the survey. However, we excluded 4 cases due to a lack of consistency using reversed items in the answers of the companies, and 176 cases were used for the analysis. We acknowledge that 176 samples may not be sufficient to conduct regression analyses with 5 research variables in our study. Each variable was measured through multiple items. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis to assess their unidimensionality. In an effort to test the construct validity of the instruments, a principal component factor analysis was conducted with Varimax rotation. The items correspond well to each singular factor, demonstrating a high degree of convergent validity. As the factor loadings for a variable (or factor) are higher than the factor loadings for the other variables, the instrument's discriminant validity is shown to be clear. Each factor was extracted as expected, which explained 70.97, 66.321, and 52.97 percent, respectively, of the total variance each with eigen values greater than 1.000. The internal consistency reliability of the variables was evaluated by computing Cronbach's alphas. The Cronbach's alpha values of the variables, which ranged from 0.717 to 0.950, were all securely over 0.700, which is satisfactory. The reliability and validity of the research variables are all, therefore, considered acceptable. The effects of dependence were assessed using a regression analysis. The Pearson correlations were calculated for the variables, measured by interval or ratio scales. Potential multicollinearity among the antecedents was evaluated prior to the multiple regression analysis, as some of the variables were significantly correlated with others (e.g., direct service and indirect service). Although several variables show the evidence of significant correlations, their tolerance values range between 0.334 and 0.613, thereby demonstrating that multicollinearity is not a likely threat to the parameter estimates. Checking some basic assumptions for the regression analyses, we decided to conduct multiple regression analyses and moderated regression analyses to test the given hypotheses. The results of the regression analyses indicate that the regression model is significant at p < 0.001 (F = 44.260), and that the predictors of the research model explain 42.6 percent of the total variance. Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 address the relationships between the dependence of the incubated firms and the business incubating services. Business infrastructure service, direct service, and indirect service are all significantly related with dependence (β = 0.300, p < 0.001; β = 0.230, p < 0.001; β = 0.226, p < 0.001), thus supporting Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3. When the incubating period is the moderator and dependence is the dependent variable, the addition of the interaction terms with the antecedents to the regression equation yielded a significant increase in R2 (F change = 2.789, p < 0.05). In particular, direct service and indirect service exert different effects on dependence. Hence, the results support Hypotheses 5 and 6. This study provides several strategies and specific calls to action for BICs, based on our empirical findings. Business infrastructure service has more effect on the firm's dependence than the other two services. The introduction of an additional high charge rate for a graduated but allowed to stay in the BIC is a basic and legitimate condition for the BIC to control the firm's dependence. We detected the differential effects of direct and indirect services on the firm's dependence. The firms with long incubating period are more sensitive to indirect service positively, and more sensitive to direct service negatively, when assessing their levels of dependence. This implies that BICs must develop a strategy on the basis of a firm's incubating period. Last but not least, it would be valuable to discover other important variables that influence the firm's dependence in the future studies. Moreover, future studies to explain the independence of startup companies in BICs would also be valuable.