This study was conducted to examine the effect of artificial light source and photoperiod on the growth of leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) 'Seonhong Jeokchukmyeon' in a closed-type plant production system. Seedlings were grown under 3 light sources, fluorescent lamp (FL, Philips Co. Ltd., the Netherlands), WL #1 (Hepas Co. Ltd., Korea), and WL #2 (FC Poibe Co., Ltd., Korea), each with 3 photoperiods, 12/12, 18/6, and 24/0 (Light/Dark). An irradiance spectrum analysis showed that FL has various peaks in the 400-700 nm range, while WL #1 and WL #2 have only one monochromatic peak at 450 and 550 nm, respectively. The greatest plant height, fresh and dry weights were obtained in the 24/0 (Light/Dark) photoperiod. The 24/0 (Light/Dark) photoperiod treatment promoted vegetative growth of the leaf area. Length of the longest root, number of leaves, fresh weight, and total anthocyanin contents were greater in FL than in either WL #1 or #2. The greatest chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) was found in the 12/12 (Light/Dark) photoperiod with FL treatment. The energy use efficiency of the LED increased by about 35-46% as compared to FL. Results suggest a possibility of LED being used as a substitute light source for fluorescent lamp for lettuce cultivation in a plant factory system.

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This study was carried out in order to investigate the status of food and nutrient intakes depending on the types of chronic disease of the elderly at welfare centers in Seoul. The total number of subjects was 299 elderly over the age of 60 (82 men and 217 women); they were grouped by the disease status: normal, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus (DM) and arthritis patients groups. The dietary intakes were obtained by a 24-hour recall and analyzed by CAN-Pro 4.0; they were then compared with the dietary reference intakes for the Korean (KDRIs). In the results of anthropometric data according to chronic disease, the waist circumference of the normal group in males and females was lower than the other groups; in particular, the normal female group showed a lower level of waist-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI) and body fat % than those of the other groups. The arthritis group showed a higher intake of milk products than the other groups (p ＜ 0.05); consequently, calcium intake was significantly higher than that of the other groups (p ＜ 0.001). Vitamin A intake in the arthritis group was significantly higher than the intake in the normal and DM groups (p ＜ 0.01). Normal and arthritis groups showed significantly higher intake of zinc and copper than the CVD group (p ＜ 0.01). In general, about 80% of the subjects in this study revealed insufficient intakes of riboflavin, vitamin C, calcium, dietary fiber, vitamin D, biotin and potassium, compared with the estimated average requirement (EAR) or adequate intake (AI). However, sodium intake of all groups was higher than the AI of KDRIs. In conclusion, nutrient intake, according to the chronic disease, showed significant difference in some of the micronutrients, vitamin A, Ca, Zn and Cu. Therefore, we suggest that dietary guidelines, such as reducing the intake of salty foods and sweet drinks and increasing the intake of foods with sufficient calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C, are necessary to the improvement of eating habits for the elderly. (Korean J Nutr 2012; 45(6): 531 ~ 540)

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with suspicious developmental delay in infants and early childhood.METHODS: Participants were 133 infants, aged from birth to 6 years old and their mothers, who were being seen at 16 Public health centers in B city. Korean Denver II was used to test infant development. chi2-test, Fisher's exact test and multiple logistic regression were used with SPSS 19.0 to analyze data.RESULTS: Of participant infants, 7.5% were below the 3rd percentile for the weight percentile, 8.4% is a weight curve that crosses more than 2 percentile lines on the growth charts after previous achievement, and 9.8% had suspicious developmental delay according to Korean Denver II. Further the predictive factors related to suspicious development delay in the children were decrease of weight percentile (Odds Ratio [OR]=6.69, Confidence Interval [CI])=1.22-36.45), low economic state (OR=6.26, CI=1.50-26.00), and developmental delay perceived by their mothers (OR=4.99, CI=1.24-20.06).CONCLUSION: It is necessary to build a government level system to follow management of development of infants and children from the time of birth. Especially, it is necessary to develop a program for children in low income families.

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