Substantial efforts have been made to manipulate ruminal environment in a hope to enhance ruminal fermentation efficiency for better ruminant productivity. Some of examples are methane inhibitors, antibiotics, microbial enzymes, fatty acids and/or lipid feeding, buffering agents, ionophores and probiotics. Of these efforts, the non-ionic surfactant (NIS) has been known for its stimulation to release enzymes from a range of anaerobic microbes. A series of studies were conducted 1) to evaluate NIS diluted with water and ethanol on in vitro ruminal fermentation and 2) to determine the influence of diluted NIS on digestibility of feedstuffs. In first experiment (Exp. 1), NIS was diluted with water or ethanol to measure its effects on in vitro microbial growth, ruminal enzyme activities and gas production by mixed ruminal microbial culture. The NIS was diluted with water or ethanol separately in a 1:5 ratio (w/v). Water and ethanol-diluted NIS with wheat flour were added with rice straw-based mixed ruminal microbial cultures at the rate of 2 ㎎ NIS/16 ㎖ McDougall buffer plus 4 ml ruminal fluid solution. The mixed ruminal microbial culture was run without any NIS addition as control. Addition of NIS either diluted with water or ethanol has significantly reduced the gas production in mixed ruminal microbial culture at 12 and 24 h of incubation. At 48 h post incubation, gas production was the highest with the addition of ethanol diluted NIS followed by water-diluted NIS and control. Carboxy methyl cellulase activity in rice straw-based mixed ruminal bacterial culture was significantly higher with the addition of ethanol-diluted NIS compared with the addition of water-diluted NIS and control at 24 and 72 h post incubation. In second in vitro experiment (Exp. 2), effects of addition of ethanol diluted NIS on dry matter (DM) digestibility of alfalfa hay, gas production, pH and cellular growth in mixed ruminal microbial culture were examined. Alfalfa hay based mixed ruminal microbial culture without any NIS addition was run as a control. The pH of mixed ruminal microbial culture was significantly lower than control at all post incubation sampling hours. In vitro DM digestibility of alfalfa hay was significantly higher with the addition of NIS compared with control. Gas production was significantly less with NIS addition compared with control at all post incubation sampling hours. Microbial growth in mixed ruminal microbial culture was significantly increased with the addition of NIS compared to control.

The purpose of this research is to rethink Alvar Aalto's architecture on the basis of the aesthetic concept of play. This attempt is valid because he had asserted the importance of play in his design. But more fundamentally, his critical view of the instrumentalised rationalism implied the idea that a human being is “Man the Player” as well as “Man the Thinker”, of which theory was elaborated in Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens (1938). Premised on it, this paper investigated the evolution of the play idea in aesthetics and located Aalto's concept within the map. Summing up, his play was an intuitively grasped desire opposed to a rational requirement, which leads to a dialectical synthesis. This schema is similar to that of Schiller, in which Spiel reconciles the reason and the sense. However, Aalto's play could be differentiated into the "astonishingly rational" and "a jest", each of which roughly corresponds to the Spieltrieb (play impulse) and the sinnliche Trieb (sensuous impulse) in Schiller's thinking. On the other hand, Aalto's architecture illustrates play that could be interpreted as the overflow of surplus energy. This play is the very concept that can bridge the gap in the form-function formula of modern architecture. Aalto's play idea seemed to basically originate from his personality but its value must be confirmed by the Finnish litterateur Yrjö Hirn as Aalto mentioned in his statements (1953 & 1972). It appears that Aalto's play concept was materialised in architecture through his typical design language, such as the undulating wall, the aperspective space, the imitation of nature and the collage of heterogenous elements. However, we should be careful not to reductively analyse the application of play in practise. As Huizinga's comprehensive theory suggests, the play element exists in any cultural areas including any architectural activities. In conclusion, this paper argues that Alvar Aalto the Homo Ludens presented the possibility of critical rationalism in modern architecture by imbuing dry modernism with "the life enhancing charm" of "the art of play".

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) play important roles in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling during ovarian follicular development, oocytes development and ovulation. In an attempt to investigate the effect of MMP activation in development cumulus-oocytes complexes, we examined the localization and expression of MMP, and monitored MMP expression profile. Cumulus-oocytes complexes were collected and matured in vitro for 24 hr, 36 hr and 48 hr. A mRNA expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 was detected in all culture medium regardless of CC, OC and COCs. Activity of MMP-2 in the OC progressively was increased from 24 hr to 48 hr. But MMP-9 was not detected in all culture medium. The localization of MMP-2 was also measured by immunohistochemistry analysis. The MMP-2 and TIMP-2 was detected in cumulus cell and oocyte zone pellucida. Expression of MMP-2 protein in the COCs was progressively increased from 24 hr to 48 hr. However, MMP-9 protein was progressively decreased from 24 hr to 48 hr. And TIMP-2 protein was most highly expressed in the COCs 36 hr. Expression of TIMP-3 protein in the COCs was progressively increased from 24 hr to 48 hr. In conclusion, these results suggest that MMP-2 plays a role in maintaining normal maturation and development by controlling the ECM inhibitor concentration on cumulus cell and oocytes.

여름철 강원도 고랭지 재배되는 착색단고추는 비상품과로 분류되는 생리장해과가 발생이 많은데, 본 실험은 이들 생리장해과의 신선편이 이용 가능성을 알아보고자 실시하였다. 착색단고추의 정상과와 배꼽썩음과 그리고 납작과를 수확하여 신선편이로 제조하여 수확 후 생리현상과 몇 가지 MAP 조건에서 저장성을 비교하였다. 저장전 이들 신선편이의 호흡률과 에틸렌 발생 률은 정상과와 생리장해과의 차이에 일정한 경향이 었으며 통계적 유의성도 나타나지 않았다. 이들 3가지의 형태의 과실의 신선편이를 두께 25μm와 50μm의 세라믹 필름으로 포장하여 4℃와 9℃ 그리고 상온에서 저장하였다. 저장중 생체중 감소는 모두 1.1% 이하로 과실형태로는 그 차이에 유의성이 없었으며 필름 두께가 얇을수록 저장 온도가 높을수록 컸다. 이들 포장재내 이산화탄소와 산소농도의 경우 품종과 과실형태별 차이에 유의성은 없었으며 저장온도별로 저온이었던 4℃ 처리와 필름종류에서는 두께가 얇았던 25μm 세라믹 필름포장처리에서 낮은 이산화탄소와 높은 산소 농도를 보였다. 저장기간 중 변화를 보면 4℃ 저장은 9일 이후, 9℃ 저장은 6일 이후 포장재내 급격한 이산화탄소 농도 증가와 이와 동반된 산소 농도 감소나 나타났는데, 이 시점은 외관상 품질이 급격히 감소한 때와 일치하였다. 에틸렌 농도는 상온을 제 외한 모든 처리구에서 7μL·L-1 이하를 보였는데 포장재 두께가 얇은 25μm 세라믹 필름포장과 4℃ 저장 처리구에서 낮게 유지되었으며 과실형태별로 유의성 있는 차이나 일정한 경향은 없었다. 저장 최종일에 외관상 품질은 3일간 저장하였던 상온에서 가장 크게 감소하였으며 처리간 차이에 유의성은 없었다, 9℃와 4℃ 저장에서는 정상과에서 외관상 품질이 높게 유지되었으나 생리장해과와의 차이에 통계적 유의성은 없었다. 저장온도별로 9일간 저장한 9℃에 비해 12일간 저장한 4℃에서 높게 유지되었다. 이상의 결과를 종합하면, 착색단고추 과실의 형태 및 품질이 신선편이의 저장성에 큰 영향을 주지 않았으며 저온 장해가 있는 착색단고추 과실이지만 신선편이의 경우 4℃의 저온이 보다 효과적인 것을 알 수 있었다.

Bulk nanostructured metallic materials are generally synthesized by bottom-up processing which starts from powders for assembling bulk materials. In this study, the bottom-up powder metallurgy and High Pressure Torsion (HPT) approaches were combined to achieve both full density and grain refinement at the same time. After the HPT process at 473K, the disk samples reached a steady state condition when the microstructure and properties no longer evolve, and equilibrium boundaries with high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) were dominant. The well dispersed alumina particles played important role of obstacles to dislocation glide and to grain growth, and thus, reduced the grain size at elevated temperature. The small grain size with HAGBs resulted in high strength and good ductility.