• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.322-327
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• 2019

This study was conducted to improve the performance of automatic grafting robot using image recognition technique. The stem diameters of tomatoes and cucumber at the time of grafting were $2.5{\pm}0.3mm$ and $2.2{\pm}0.2mm$ for scions and $3.1{\pm}0.7mm$ and $3.6{\pm}0.3mm$ for rootstocks, respectively. The grafting failure was occurred when the different height between scions and rootstocks were over 4 mm and below 2 mm due to the small contact area of both cutting surface. Therefore, it was found that the height difference at the cutting surface of 3 mm is appropriate. This study also found that grafting failure was occurred when the stem diameters of both scions and rootstocks were thin. Therefore, it was suggested to use at least one stem with thicker than the average stem diameter. Field survey on the cutting angle of stems by hand were ranged from 13 to 55 degree for scions and 15 to 67 degree for rootstocks, respectively, which indicates that this could cause the grafting failure problem. However, the automatic grafting robot developed in this study rotates the seedlings 90 degree and then the stems are cut using a cutting blade. The control part of robot use all images taken from grafting process to determine the distance between a center of both ends of stem and a gripper center and then control the rotation angle of a gripper. Overall, this study found that The performance of automatic grafting robot using image recognition technique was superior with the grafting success rates of cucumber and tomato as $96{\pm}3.2%$ and $95{\pm}4%$, respectively.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2021

The consumption of fresh-cut agricultural materials is increasing due to increased public interest in health and the increase of single-person households. Most fresh-cut agricultural materials can be eaten without heating, thus easily exposing the consumer to food-borne pathogens. As a result, food-borne diseases are increasing worldwide. In the analysis of food-borne pathogens, it is important to detect the strains, but this is time consuming and laborious. Alternative detection methods that have been introduced, include polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), which is performed without prior culturing. Samples of fresh-cut agricultural materials, such as vegetables, were analyzed by the culture-based method. In 129 samples, non-pathogenic Escherichia coli (3.9%), Bacillus cereus (31.8%), Clostridium perfringens (5.4%), Yersinia enterocolitica (0.8%), and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (0.8%) were detected. Eight samples contaminated with bacteria were randomly selected, further analyzed by PCR-DGGE, and compared with the culture-based method. Two cases detected non-pathogenic E. coli by PCR-DGGE only, despite a lack of detection by the culture method. It was supposed there was possibility of sample loss during its 10-fold dilution for appropriate cultivation. In the detection of high-risk food-borne pathogens, it was found that the detection limit was lower in PCR-DGGE than in the culture-based method (10 CFU/g). This suggests that PCR-DGGE can be alternatively used to detect strains. On the other hand, low-risk food-borne pathogens seem to have higher detection limits in PCR-DGGE. Consequentially, this study contributes to the improvement of food-borne pathogen detection and the prevention of its related-diseases in fresh-cut agricultural materials.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.644-663
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the safety of iodine intake based on ingestion levels and urinary iodine excretion of women of childbearing age (15-45 years old) using data from the 2013-2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods: Iodine intake was calculated using the 24 hours dietary recall method and urinary iodine excretion. The iodine nutrition database for the analysis of dietary iodine intake was constructed using the food composition database of the Rural Development Administration (RDA), the Korean Nutrition Society (KNS), the Ministries of Food and Drug Safety, China and, Japan. The World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation criteria and hazard quotient (HQ) calculated using biomonitoring equivalents (BE) were applied to evaluate the safety of the iodine intake. Results: Of the study subjects, 15.22% had a urinary iodine concentration level of less than 100 ㎍/L, which was diagnosed as deficient, and 48.16% had an excessive iodine concentration of over 300 ㎍/L. Urinary iodine concentration was 878.71 ㎍/L, iodine/creatinine was 589.00 ㎍/g, and iodine/creatinine was significantly higher at the age of 30-45 years. The dietary iodine intake was 273.47 ㎍/day, and the iodine intake calculated from the urinary iodine excretion was 1,198.10 ㎍/day. Foods with a high contribution to iodine intake were vegetables, seafood, seaweed and processed foods. The HQ was 1.665 when the urinary iodine content was > 1,000 ㎍/L. Conclusion: The results of this study implicate that the urinary iodine concentration, rather than the dietary iodine intake, is more appropriate to evaluate the iodine status under the current situation that a comprehensive iodine database for Koreans has not been established.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.552-558
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• 2021

Traditional foods are manufactured according to the characteristics of each region for the nations of the world. Korea has mainly farmed, and seasonings have developed around rice and vegetables. In fermented foods, lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus sp. and Pediococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. were isolated and identified from fermented foods. In this study, lactic acid bacteria were isolated and identified from commercially available traditional Korean fermented foods, and candidate strains were selected through antibacterial activity tests on human and fish disease bacteria. Thereafter, the final strain was selected by examining the resistance to simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, and hemolysis. The three (M1, K1, C13) final selected latic acid bacteria were miced with prebiotics and the antibacterial activity of synbiotics was evaluated. As for the fist antibacterial activity result, C13 showed high antibacterial acitivity in human diseases and fish diseases. Then, M1, K1 and C13, which did not produce β-haemolysis and were resistant to simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, were subjected to the second antibacterial activity of synbiotics. When the three prebiotics (FOS, GOS, Inulin) and probiotics (M1, K1, C13) were mixed, the antibacterial activity was increased or inhibited. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing results, K1 and M1 were analyzed as Bacillus tequiensis 99.72%, Bacillus subtilis 99.65%, Bacillus inaquosorum 99.72%, Bacillus cabrialesii 99.72%, Bacillus stercoris 99.58%, Bacillus spizizenii 99.58%, Bacillus halotolerans 99.58%, and Bacillus mojavensis 99.51%. And C13 was analyzed as Bacillus velezensis 99.71%, Bacillus nematocida 99.36%, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 99.44%, Bacillus atrophaeus 99.22%, and Bacillus nakamurai 99.44%.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.21-35
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• 2022

The recommended meal composition allows the general people to organize meals using the number of intakes of foods from each of six food groups (grains, meat·fish·eggs·beans, vegetables, fruits, milk·dairy products and oils·sugars) to meet Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) without calculating complex nutritional values. Through an integrated analysis of data from the 6th to 7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2013-2018), representative foods for each food group were selected, and the amounts of representative foods per person were derived based on energy. Based on the EER by age and gender from the KDRIs, a total of 12 kinds of diets were suggested by differentiating meal compositions by age (aged 1-2, 3-5, 6-11, 12-18, 19-64, 65-74 and ≥ 75 years) and gender. The 2020 Food Balance Wheel included the 6th food group of oils and sugars to raise public awareness and avoid confusion in the practical utilization of the model by industries or individuals in reducing the consistent increasing intakes of oils and sugars. To promote the everyday use of the Food Balance Wheel and recommended meal compositions among the general public, the poster of the Food Balance Wheel was created in five languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese) along with card news. A survey was conducted to provide a basis for categorizing nutritional problems by life cycles and developing customized web-based messages to the public. Based on survey results two types of card news were produced for the general public and youth. Additionally, the educational program was developed through a series of processes, such as prioritization of educational topics, setting educational goals for each stage, creation of a detailed educational system chart and teaching-learning plans for the development of educational materials and media.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.339-346
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• 2022

This study was performed to investigate the quality characteristics and antioxidant activity of black soybean Sunsik product with functional food ingredients and functional labeling system. We prepared black soybean Sunsik (BS) containing black beans, cereals, and vegetables. Black soybean Sunsik with nondigestible maltodextrin and calcium lactate (BSN) was prepared by adding non-digestible maltodextrin and calcium lactate to the base recipe to apply a functional labeling system. The particle size in BS was 118.00 ㎛, whereas BSN was 127.00 ㎛. The respective L, a, and b color values of BS were 73.25, 2.36, and 14.21. The respective L, a, and b values of BSN were 73.21, 2.36, and 14.31. The respective water retention capacities of BS and BSN were 241.67% and 216.33%. No significant difference was observed between BS and BSN in the three physicochemical properties described above. However, the pH of BSN was 5.45, which was significantly lower than that of BS. The total respective phenolic contents of BS and BSN were 1.75 mg GAE/g and 1.61 mg GAE/g, and total respective flavonoid contents of BS and BSN were 6.36 mg RE/g and 5.95 mg RE/g. The antioxidant capacities of BS and BSN were compared via assays of DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, FRAP, and reducing power. The antioxidant activities of BS and BSN increased in a dose-dependant manner. No significant difference between BS and BSN was observed in any measure of antioxidant capacity. These results suggested that the addition of functional food ingredients (non-digestible maltodextrin and calcium lactate) did not affect the quality characteristics and antioxidant activity of black soybean Sunsik.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2022

Uniform scions and rootstocks should be produced to ensure grafting success. Light quality is an important environmental factor that regulates seedling growth. The effects of warm- and cool-white light emitting diode (LED) ratios on seedling growth were investigated. Scions and rootstocks of cucumber, tomato, and watermelon were grown in a closed transplant production system using LED as the sole lighting source. The LED treatments were W1C0 (only warm-white), W1C1 (warm-white: cool-white = 1:1), W3C1 (warm-white: cool-white = 3:1), and W5C2 (warm-white: cool-white = 5:2). The seedlings grown in W1C1 had the shortest hypocotyls, and the seedlings grown in W1C0 had the longest hypocotyls among the three tested vegetables. The hypocotyls of watermelon scions, watermelon rootstocks, and tomato rootstocks were shortest in W1C1, followed by those in W3C1, W5C2, and W1C0, but there was no significant difference between W3C1 and W5C2, which remained the same as the ratio of cool-white LEDs increased. In addition, tomato scions had the first and second longest hypocotyls in W1C0 and W3C1, respectively, and the shortest hypocotyls in W5C2 and W1C1, along with W5C2 and W1C1, although the difference was not significant. The stem diameter was highest in W1C0 except for tomato seedlings and rootstocks of watermelon. The shoot fresh weight of scions and rootstocks of cucumber and watermelon and the root fresh weight of cucumber scions were lowest in W1C1. These results indicated that different ratios of LED lighting sources had a strong effect on the hypocotyl elongation of seedlings.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2021

Pacific island countries, including Kiribati, are suffering from a shortage of essential resources as well as a reduction in their living space due to sea level rise and coastal erosion from climate change, groundwater pollution and vegetation changes. Global activities to solve these problems are being progressed by the UN's efforts to implement SDGs. Pacific island countries can adapt to climate change by using abundant marine resources. In other words, seawater plants can assist in achieving SDGs #2, #6 and #7 based on SDGs #14 in these Pacific island countries. Under the auspice of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) established the Sustainable Seawater Utilization Academy (SSUA) in 2016, and its 30 graduates formed the SSUA Kiribati Association in 2017. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of the Republic of Korea awarded ODA fund to the Association. By taking advantage of seawater resource and related plants, it was able to provide drinking water and vegetables to the local community from 2018 to 2020. Among the various fields of education and practice provided by SSUA, the Association hope to realize hydroponic cultivation and seawater desalination as a self-support project through a pilot project. To this end, more than 140 households are benefiting from 3-stage hydroponics, and a seawater desalination system in connection with solar power generation was installed for operation. The Association grows and supplies vegetable seedlings from the provided seedling cultivation equipment, and is preparing to convert to self-support business from next year. The satisfaction survey shows that Tarawa residents have a high degree of satisfaction with the technical support and its benefits. In the future, it is hoped that SSUA and regional associations will be distributed to neighboring island countries to support their SDGs implementations.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.170-179
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• 2022

Glutamic acid is a precursor of essential amino acids that play an important role in plant growth and development. It is one of the biostimulants that reduce cold stress damage by stimulating biosynthetic pathways leading to cryoprotectants. This study evaluated the effects of glutamic acid foliar application on Kimchi cabbage under low-temperature stress. There were six treatments, combining three photo-/dark periods temperature levels (11/-1℃ extremely low, E; 16/4℃ moderately low, M; and 21/9℃ optimal, O) with and without glutamic acid foliar application (0 and 10 mg·L^-1; Glu 0 and Glu 10). Glutamic acid foliar application was sprayed once 10 days after transplanting, and then temperature treatment immediately after glutamic acid foliar application was conducted for up to four days. After four days of treatment, abscisic acid (ABA), phaseic acid (PA), dihydrophaseic acid (DPA), and abscisic acid-glucose ester (ABA-GE) contents were higher with Glu 10 treatment than Glu 0 treatment in M treatment. Glucose content was highest in E with Glu 10 treatment (52.1 mg·100 g^-1 dry weight), while fructose content was highest in O with Glu 0 treatment (134.6 mg·100 g^-1 dry weight). The contents of glucolepiddin (GLP), glucobrassicin (GBS), 4-methoxyglucobrassicin (4MGBS), neoglucobrassicin (GNBS), and gluconasturtiin (GNS) were highest among all treatments in E with Glu 10 treatments (0.72, 2.05, 1.67, 9.40 and 0.85 µmol·g^-1 dry weight). After two days of treatment, rapid changes in PA and DPA contents of E with Glu 10 treatments were confirmed, and several individual glucosinolate contents (GLP, GBS, 4MGBS, GNBS, and GNS) were significantly different depending on low temperature and glutamic acid treatment. In addition, the content of fructose was significantly lower than that of O treatment in E and M treatments after four days of treatment. Therefore, although the changes in PA, DPA, glucose, fructose, and individual glucosinolates according to low temperature and glutamic acid foliar treatment were shown. A clear correlation between low temperature and glutamic acid effects could not be evaluated. Results indicated that Brassica crops are cryophilic vegetables, do not react sensitively to low temperatures, and mostly have cold resistance.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.246-254
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• 2022

Domestic facility agriculture grows rapidly, such as modernization and large-scale. And the production scale increases significantly compared to the area, accounting for about 60% of the total agricultural production. Greenhouses require energy input to create an appropriate environment for stable mass production throughout the year, but the energy load per unit area is large because of low insulation properties. Through the rooftop greenhouse, one of the types of urban agriculture, energy that is not discarded or utilized in the building can be used in the rooftop greenhouse. And the cooling and heating load of the building can be reduced through optimal greenhouse operation. Dynamic energy analysis for various environmental conditions should be preceded for efficient operation of rooftop greenhouses, and about 40% of the solar energy introduced in the greenhouse is energy exchange for crops, so it should be considered essential. A major analysis is needed for each sensible heat and latent heat load by leaf surface temperature and evapotranspiration, dominant in energy flow. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in a rooftop greenhouse located at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials to analyze the energy exchange according to the growth stage of crops. A micro-meteorological and nutrient solution environment and growth survey were conducted around the crops. Finally, a regression model of leaf temperature and evapotranspiration according to the growth stage of leafy vegetables was developed, and using this, the dynamic energy model of the rooftop greenhouse considering heat transfer between crops and the surrounding air can be analyzed.