This study was carried out to investigate the general characteristics and viability of sperm after freezing and thawing and the pregnancy rates after artificial insemination with thawed semen. The rates of viable sperm after slow and rapid freezing were 87.4±3.85% and 70.8±4.45%, respectively which were significantly lower than that of fresh semen control (91.7±3.45%). The mean concentration of epididymal sperm after dilution in 1.0 ml saline and. 3.0 ml extender in a various concentrations of cryoprotectants was 124.5±48.3 x 10/sup 6/ (range of 45 x 10/sup 6/ to 280 X 10/sup 6/ /ml). There was a significant difference not in the percentage of acrosome-reacted sperm, but in the percentage of capacitated sperm, between fresh and frozen-thawed epididymal semen. When frozen-thawed after diluting with tris-buffer extender containing glycerol, DMSO and ethylene glycol with concentration of 2 to 6%, the rates of epididymal sperm exposed to different cryoprotectants ranged from 14.4±4.7% to 20.7±5.8%, 17.8±5.2% to 36.5±4.9%, and 14.4±4.6% to 18.5±5.3%, respectively which were lower compare to fresh semen control. The pregnancy rate after artificial insemination with frozen semen was 70.6%, whereas that with fresh semen was 90.0% in dogs with naturally induced estrus.

The use of natural paint for the application to walls and furnishings is now increasing to improve indoor air quality, thereby the natural paint could be a significant source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in indoor environments. Recent studies have shown that gas-phase reactions between terpenes and ozone can generate sub-micron size particles and toxic volatile organic compounds such as aldehydes and ketones. In this research, we have studied the formation of particles and secondary organic compounds during the reaction of ozone with terpenes emitted from commercial natural paint. The paint applied onto stainless steel was dried and oxidized in a teflon chamber. Two monoterpenes (α- and β-pinenes) were identified by FTIR and GC/MS. Several tests were performed to evaluate the effects of ozone concentration on particle formation. Increased ozone levels significantly affect the increase of particle number concentration (monitored with SMPS), which results in the increase of particle counts ranging from 8,000 to 70,000 particles/㎤. Gas-phase products such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone + acrolein, and propionaldehyde were identified during the terpene/ozone reactions by HPLC. These compounds are potential hazardous chemical compounds having harmful health effects to animals and plants. The results obtained from this study provide an insight on the adverse effect of eco-friendly natural product on indoor air quality (IAQ).

Recently, we have set up a new digital CCD camera system, MicroMax YHS-1300 manufactured by Roper Scientific for Hα observation by Solar Flare Telescope at Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory. It has a 12 bit dynamic range, a pixel number of 1300×1030, a thermoelectric cooler, and an electric shutter. Its readout speed is about 3 frames per second and the dark current is about 0.05 e-/p/s at -10°. We have made a system performance test by confirming the system linearity, system gain, and system noise that its specification requires. We have also developed a data acquisition software which connects a digital camera con-troller to a PC and acquires Hα images via Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 under Windows 98. Comparisons of high quality Hα images of AR 9169 and AR 9283 obtained from SOFT with the corresponding images from Learmonth Solar Observatory in Australia confirm that our Hα digital observational system is performed properly. Finally, we present a set of Hα images taken from a two ribbon flare occurred in AR 9283.