• Title/Summary/Keyword: labor and cost saving

Search Result 86, Processing Time 0.04 seconds

Nitrogen Management with Split Application of Urea for Direct-Seeding Rice in Wet Paddy

  • Lee, Ho-Jin;Seo, Jun-Han;Lee, Jung-Sam;Jung, Yong-Sang;Fred E. Below
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
    • /
    • v.43 no.1
    • /
    • pp.49-53
    • /
    • 1998
  • Direct-seeding has major advantages such as labor and cost saving by eliminating preparation of seed bed and transplanting. But, it required increased input of fertilizers and pesticides because of the extended paddy period. Direct seeding in wet paddy (DSWP) gives faster growth and more uniform seedling emergence than direct-seeding in dry paddy. This research had an objective to develop an efficient N management practices for DSWP with split application of N fertilizer. A paddy field experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of starter N and N-topdressing which was delayed N application until 5-leaf stage, with comparison to transplanting (TP). Total amount of N application were two levels; 110kg and 77kg/ha. The N applications were split four times during rice growth stages; starter, topdressing at 5-leaf stage, top dressing at tillering stage, and topdressing at panicle initiation stage. DSWP had more tillers/$m^2$ than TP, but with the delayed heading. The DSWP plots which received N-topdressing at 5-leaf stage without starter N had higher leaf area index (LAI) and leaf greenness than the TP plot. Also, these DSWP plots had high leaf-N concentration at the heading stage, as calculated from leaf chlorophyll meter readings. Rice yield in DSWP with N-topdressing at 5-leaf stage was significantly higher than that in TP and in DSWP with starter N. Energy and N use efficiency were improved in DSWP with N-topdressing at 5-leaf stage. But, there were no significant differences in grain yield between the two levels of total amounts of N applications, 77kg and 110kg/ha. We concluded that starter N could not be used effectively by rice seedlings, but topdressing N at 5-leaf stage was an efficient N management for rice growth and yield in DSWP system.

  • PDF

Experimental study on seismic behavior of reinforced concrete column retrofitted with prestressed steel strips

  • Zhang, Bo;Yang, Yong;Wei, Yuan-feng;Liu, Ru-yue;Ding, Chu;Zhang, Ke-qiang
    • Structural Engineering and Mechanics
    • /
    • v.55 no.6
    • /
    • pp.1139-1155
    • /
    • 2015
  • In this study, a new retrofitting method for improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete column was presented, in which prestressed steel strips were utilized as retrofitting stuff to confine the reinforced concrete column transversely. In order to figure out the seismic performance of concrete column specimen retrofitted by such prestressed steel strips methods, a series of quasi-static tests of five retrofitted specimens and two unconfined column specimen which acted as control specimens were conducted. Based on the test results, the seismic performance including the failure modes, hysteresis performance, ductility performance, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation of all these specimens were fully investigated and analyzed. And furthermore the influences of some key parameters such as the axial force ratios, shear span ratios and steel strips spacing on seismic performance of those retrofitted reinforced concrete column specimens were also studied. It was shown that the prestressed steel strips provided large transverse confining effect on reinforced concrete column specimens, which resulted in improving the shearing bearing capacity, ductility performance, deformation capacity and energy dissipation performance of retrofitted specimens effectively. In comparison to the specimen which was retrofitted by the carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) strips method, the seismic performance of the specimens retrofitted by the prestressed steel strips was a bit better, and with much less cost both in material and labor. From this research results, it can be concluded that this new retrofitting method is really useful and has significant advantages both in saving money and time over some other retrofitting methods.

UNG-based direct polymerase chain reaction (udPCR) for the detection of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) (UNG 기반 direct polymerase chain reaction (udPCR)을 이용한 돼지 써코바이러스 2형 진단법)

  • Kim, Eun-Mi;Park, Choi-Kyu
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
    • /
    • v.37 no.4
    • /
    • pp.253-261
    • /
    • 2014
  • Porcine circovirus disease (PCVD) is a major problem of swine industry worldwide, and diagnosis of PCV2, causal agent of PCVD, has been doing in clinical laboratories of pig disease by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. But the PCR analyses have a serious problem of misdiagnosis by contamination of DNA, in particular, from carryover contamination with previously amplified DNA or extracted DNA from field samples. In this study, an uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG)-based direct PCR (udPCR) without DNA extraction process and DNA carryover contamination was developed and evaluated on PCV2 culture and field pig samples. The sensitivity of the udPCR combined with dPCR and uPCR was same or better than that of the commercial PCR (cPCR) kit (Median diagnostics, Korea) on PCV2-positive serum, lymph node and lung samples of the pigs. In addition, the udPCR method confirmed to have a preventing ability of mis-amplification by contamination of pre-amplified PCV2 DNA from previous udPCR. In clinical application, 170 pig samples (86 tissues and 84 serum) were analysed by cPCR kit and resulted in 37% (63/170) of positive reaction, while the udPCR was able to detect the PCV2 DNA in 45.3% (77/170) with higher sensitivity than cPCR. In conclusion, the udPCR developed in the study is a time, labor and cost saving method for the detection of PCV2 and providing a preventing effect for DNA carryover contamination that can occurred in PCR process. Therefore, the udPCR assay could be an useful alternative method for the diagnosis of PCV2 in the swine disease diagnostic laboratories.

A Study of Med-Arb in the United States (미국의 조정-중재(Med-Arb) 제도에 관한 연구)

  • Chung, Yong-Kyun
    • Journal of Arbitration Studies
    • /
    • v.24 no.1
    • /
    • pp.85-109
    • /
    • 2014
  • Mediation and Arbitration are two distinct ADR processes. Their dissimilarity lies in the principle that in mediation the parties themselves decide what the resolution to the problem is, whereas in arbitration the arbitrator makes that determination. Med-Arb, hybrid of the two methods, is a fairly new ADR process dating back to the 1970s. Med-Arb capitalizes on the advantages of both mediation and arbitration, while eliminating many of their disadvantages. Mediation has the advantage of allowing for resolutions rather than decisions. Arbitration has the advantage of guaranteeing that the matter will be resolved when the procedure is over. In Med-Arb, the participants agree to be parties to mediation, and if the mediation comes to an impasse, a final settlement will be reached through arbitration. This study first explicates the origin and the development of Med-Arb in the United States. This study shows that the emergence of Med-Arb is benefited from the fact that arbitration has lost its own advantages ie, speed, cost-saving, and maintenance of an ongoing relationship between the disputants. Second, this study analyzes four cases in which Med-Arb is applied to various kinds of disputes as a tool of dispute resolution: labor disputes, entertainment disputes, will disputes, and international commercial disputes, consecutively. All those case studies show the generality of Med-Arb as a dispute resolution channel. Third, this study compares the advantages and disadvantages of Med-Arb. Finally, this study discusses the implications of Med-Arb. In particular it provides the universality of this hybrid form of dispute resolution in the East and West. For example, we show that China has its own distinctive Med-Arb system, where it has developed from ancient Confucian philosophy. Japan also emphasizes the role of an arbitrator who settles the disputes in the course of arbitration. The domestic arbitration rules of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) have a similar process in that arbitration contains an element of conciliation. With regard to the universal characteristics of Med-Arb, it is necessary to analyze the pros and cons of Med-Arb at a deeper level in the future. One caveat is that it is necessary to handle the issues of the neutrality of the mediator-arbitrator.

  • PDF

Comparative analysis of growth, yields and grain quality of rice among no-tillage dry-seeding, wet-hill-seeding and transplanting

  • Choi, Jong-Seo;Kim, Sook-Jin;Kang, Shingu;Park, Jeong Hwa;Yoon, Young-Hwan;Yang, Woonho
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
    • /
    • 2017.06a
    • /
    • pp.208-208
    • /
    • 2017
  • No-tillage practices are expected to provide several benefits such as increasing soil organic matter, reducing labor time and saving energy cost compared with conventional tillage practices. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of no-tillage dry-seeding on rice growth and soil properties in comparison with other rice cultivation methods, machine transplanting and wet-hill-seeding on puddled paddy. Rice seedling establishment was slightly higher in no-tillage dry-seeding treatment ($145seedling\;m^{-2}$) than wet-hill-seeding on puddled paddy treatment ($111seedling\;m^{-2}$), but the seedling establishment in both treatments fell within the optimum range for direct seeding rice cultivation. Plant height, number of tillers and chlorophyll content (SPAD value) of rice in no-tillage dry-seeding treatment were higher than those of the other treatments. However, no significant differences in grain yield was observed among three cultivation methods, and the yield ranged 5.8 to $5.9ton\;ha^{-1}$. The heading date from seeding under no-tillage dry-seeding treatment was on average 109 days, which was similar to that under machine transplanting treatment (112 days), but 10 days later than that under wet-hill-seeding on puddled paddy treatment (99 days). Grain quality characteristics grown in no-tillage dry-seeding were similar to those grown in the other cultivation methods. These results indicate that no-tillage dry-seeding practice is comparable to conventional tillage system in terms of seedling establishment, growth, yields and grain quality.

  • PDF

Development of the End-effector for Developing a PHC Pile Cutting and Crushing Machine (PHC 파일 두부정리 자동화 장비의 말단장치 개발)

  • Lee Jeong-ho;Kim Young-suk;Cho Moon-young;Kim Sung-keun;Sung Nak-won
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
    • /
    • 2004.11a
    • /
    • pp.531-534
    • /
    • 2004
  • Cutting work of the concrete pile is an important task to chsh a part of pile head which is compressed with more than $800kgf/cm^{2}$. It is usually performed by a crusher and three to four skilled workers. llecent analysis results of the pile cutting work reveal that it frequently makes a lot of cracks which significantly reduce the strength of the pile and is labor-intensive work. The primary objective of this study is to propose the end-effector which can effectively break PHC Pile without any longitudinal cracks before developing an automated pile cutting machine having unified grinder and crusher parts. It is anticipated that the development of the automated pile cutting machine would be able to bring improvements in safety, productivity, quality as well as cost saving.

  • PDF

Development of a Harvester for Crawled Spinach (포복형 시금치 수확기 개발)

  • Jun H. J.;Kim S. H.;Choi Y.;Kim Y. K.;Hong J. T.
    • Journal of Biosystems Engineering
    • /
    • v.30 no.4 s.111
    • /
    • pp.210-219
    • /
    • 2005
  • This study was conducted to solve the problem of crawled spinach harvesting that had been mainly done by manpower on the outdoor fields during the winter season. Moreover, there are not enough workers available for farming at most of rural areas in Korea because farming is getting hard and the number of old-aged workers is increasing. In order to find appropriate methods of digging, picking and collecting of spinach, the tests were examined outdoors. A prototype was designed based on the results of the tests and then fabricated for digging, picking-up and then collecting in continuous operation for harvesting spinach planted in the outdoor fields. In the field test with the prototype, the vibration intensity transmitted to the driver by vibrating blade was low while the vibrating blade reduced digging power by $46\%$ compared to that of the fixed blade. The spinach loss was found to be as low as $0.7\%$ in the condition of digging depth of 40 mm, cam rotational velocity of 748 rpm, and blade amplitude of 16.5 m. The working performance of the prototype spinach harvester was found to be 3.8 hour/10a resulting in $96\%$ of labor saving and $85\%$ of operating cost compared to the conventional manual harvesting.

An Experimental Study on Behavior of Multi-Spliced Girder with Dry Joint (건식접합부를 갖는 Multi Spliced 주형의 거동에 관한 실험적 연구)

  • Kim Kwang-Soo;Seo Bong-Won;Park Sun-Kyu
    • Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
    • /
    • v.17 no.2 s.86
    • /
    • pp.229-236
    • /
    • 2005
  • To cope with increasing requirements of cost reduction, labor saving, and rapid construction, the purpose of this study is to investigate the structural behavior of PSC monolithic and spliced girders. Three tests were conducted on reduced-scale girder specimens having same type. This paper presents the result of experimental studies on the load-deflection behavior in which different joint and amount of tendon as major variables were investigated. The first one used a monolithic girder was arranged with three tendons. The second one used a spliced girder was joined with three tendons after producing five segments. And the third girder was produced in same conditions with the second girder and arranged with additional tendons. The experimental results show the difference of behavior between monolithic and spliced girders.

A Two-Demensional Nonlinear Analysis of Precast Segmental PSC-I Girder with Dry Joint (건식접합부를 갖는 프리캐스트 세그먼트 PSC-I형 거더의 2차원 비선형해석)

  • Kim, Kwang-Soo;Kim, Tae-Wan;Park, Jun-Myung;Park, Sun-Kyu
    • Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
    • /
    • v.11 no.5
    • /
    • pp.99-106
    • /
    • 2007
  • To satisfy with the increased requirements of cost reduction, labor saving, and rapid construction, the purpose of this study is to investigate the structural behavior of PSC monolithic and spliced girders. Three tests were conducted on small-scale girder specimens. This paper presents the result of experimental studies in terms of the load-deflection behavior. Different joint type and tendon amount were investigated as major variables. The monolithic girder was arranged with three tendons. The spliced girder consisted of five segments connected by three tendons. In addition, five-segmented girders connected by more than three tendons were built to examine the effect of the tendon amount. The experimental results show the difference of behavior between monolithic and spliced girders. Moreover, nonlinear finite element method analysis was utilized to verify the experimental result.

Development of the Pilot Type Machine for Automation of PHC Pile Cutting Work (PHC 파일 두부정리 자동화를 위한 파일롯타입 장비의 개발)

  • Lee Jeong-Ho;Park Sang-Jun;Jeong Myung-Hoon;Kim Young-Suk
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
    • /
    • v.4 no.4 s.16
    • /
    • pp.173-181
    • /
    • 2003
  • During the last few years, the use of Pre-tensioned spun high strength concrete piles(PHC pile) has been gradually increased in many construction sites. Cutting work of the concrete pile is an important task to crush a part of pile head which is compressed with more than 800$\cal{kg}f/cm^2$. It is usually performed by a crusher and three to four skilled workers. Recent analysis results of the pile cutting work reveal that it frequently makes a lot of cracks which significantly reduce the strength of the pile and is labor-intensive work. The primary objective of this study is to propose conceptual designs for developing an automated pile cutting machine. It is anticipated that the development of the automated pile cutting machine would be able to bring improvements in safety, productivity, quality as well as cost saving.