Particulate matter (PM) has recently been considered one of the most harmful air pollutants to public health. Plants have been known to degrade and deposit particle pollutants with epicuticular wax (EW), and this capacity can be influenced by environmental conditions including relative humidity (RH). The present study examined the effects of RH on EW generation and PM deposition upon leaf surfaces within Asplenium nidus ‘Avis’. The plants were treated in growth chambers with two levels of RH (low: 30% - 40% and high: 80% - 90%) for a period of four weeks, and subsequently exposed to a 30 μg･m-3 concentration of TiO2 particles as a PM resource for 72 hours. The EW ultrastructure on the leaf surface was observed as the thin films type, which was not morphologically changed in the condition of low or high RH treatment. For four weeks of RH treatment, the fresh weight and leaf area per plant were not significant between low and high RH treatment, while dry weight was significantly higher in the high RH condition. We also found that greater amounts of EW per fresh weight, dry weight and leaf area were generated in high RH. However, the total amounts of PM deposition (surface PM + in-wax PM) of the plants were higher within the low RH treatment with a higher proportion of surface PM. In contrast the proportion of in-wax PM was 15% higher within the high RH. These results suggest that EW generation is affected by air humidity and that proportion of PM deposition in the EW layer were influenced by the amount of total wax load.

To attenuate and control the spread of infectious disease, a body of research has been conducted to generate safe vaccines and to continue national-level surveillance. However, understanding on viability and persistence of avian influenza virus (AIV) in infected carcasses, and effective disposal approaches are still limited up to date. Here, using HA test and RT-PCR, we assessed active status of AIV and degradation of viral RNA in collected specimens at different sites and time points. First, AIV infectivity was recovered until day 2, and viral nucleic acids persisted to day 14 and 21 in inorganic and organic samples, respectively, in sealed vials incubated at room temperature. Second, AIV was totally inactivated in all examined specimens, and viral RNA was not detectable at all time points tested at least one month post-infection in AIV-inoculated carcasses buried directly in soil or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) bin. Lastly, among different burial sites in South Korea, 6 out of 17 sampling sites in Jeonbuk province showed the presence of viral genetic materials, while the rest of the field samples displayed neither the presence of infective AIV nor detectable viral RNA. This study showed a linear relation between time and degradation degree of viral RNA in buried samples suggesting that burial disposal method is effective for the control or at least attenuation of spread of AI infection in infected animals although consistent monitoring is required to verify safety of disposal.

A previous studies depicting origin and sequence variability of the species using DNA barcoding region with the samples collected from Korea showed relatively low sequence variability. Thus, additional markers that reveal higher variability were necessitated to scrutinize population structure in connection with dispersal and invasive dynamics among international populations. Therefore, we sequenced two complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of M. pruinosa from the two haplotypes occurring in Korea (H1 and H3). Comparison of the two mitogenomes each with 16,312 and 16,314 bp evidenced that one region located in the A+T-rich region to provide higher number of haplotypes (4 vs. 3), sequence divergence (1.636% vs. 0.636%), and variable sites (7 vs. 3) than those of DNA barcoding region from the screening test using 13 representative individuals. This variable region, in concatenation with the currently available DNA barcoding region might be useful for population genetic analysis of worldwide populations including those of Korea. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

고온기 화색발현이 우수하고 연중생산이 가능한 수출용 스프레이국화 신품종을 육성하기 위하여 충남농업기술원 화훼 연구소에서 2010년 분홍색의 모본 ‘Borami’를 방임수분하였다. 2011년에 종자를 파종하였고, 이중 화형과 화색이 우수한 개체를 선발하여 ‘SP11-148-01’로 계통명을 부여하였다. 2011년부터 2013년까지 주년 생산성을 위해 전조, 자연, 차광재배로 특성을 각각 검정하였고, 생육 및 개화특성은 화형과 화색이 비슷한 자주색 스프레이국화인 ‘Kingfisher’를 대조품종으로 조사하였으며, 2013년 ‘Yes Ruby’로 품종등록 출원하였다. ‘Yes Ruby’는 자주색의 설상화와 연녹색의 통상화로 가을 작형 개화기는 10월 24일로, ‘Kingfisher’의 10월 29일에 비해 빨랐다. ‘Yes Ruby’의 초장과 줄기굵기는 각각 94.9cm와 7.7mm로 ‘Kingfisher’의 89.2cm와 6.4mm보다 컸다. ‘Yes Ruby’의 꽃 직경은 6.2cm로 ‘Kingfisher’의 5.0cm보다 컸으며, 꽃잎수도 ‘Yes Ruby’가 25.7개로 ‘Kingfisher’의 23.3개보다 많았다. 착화수는 두 품종 모두 비슷하였으며, 흰녹병 저항성은 ‘Yes Ruby’가 2단계, ‘Kingfisher’는 3단계의 감염 정도를 나타내어 흰녹병에 대한 저항성이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 재배상 유의사항은 ‘Yes Ruby’는 겨울철 균일한 개화가 이뤄지지 않아 겨울철 야간온도를 18℃ 이상으로 관리해줌으로써 균일개화를 유도할 수 있다. 또한 생장억제제인 Daminozide을 처리함으로써 설상화수를 늘려 볼륨감 높은 꽃봉오리를 형성할 수 있어 고온기에도 화색발현이 우수하고 연중생산이 가능하여 안정적 수출을 통한 농가소득 증대에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Bumblebee, Bombus ardens ardens (Apidae: Hymenopera), is an important resource for pollination that is most widely distributed in Korea. This study utilized microsatellite markers for investigation of genetic diversity and geographic relevance of the B. a. ardens populations in Korea. Through Next Generation Sequencing analysis, we identified 10 microsatellite markers and genotyped for 107 individuals of B. ardens collected from 10 populations. At each locus the number of alleles ranged from 10 to 23; the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.8909 to 1.0000 and 0.6641 to 0.8422, respectively; and inbreeding coefficient(FIS) ranged from –0.5053 to –0.0891. Significant deviation from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was not observed at any locus. Population structure analysis indicated that there are three genetic groups in Korea with each Jeongseon and Ulleung-do composed of different gene pool from the remaining other populations. Similarly, Principal coordinates analysis also showed the same pattern. FST and RST analyses showed that each Jeongseon and Ulleung-do population had a significant genetic distance from other populations. Considering these results, genetic isolation of Ulleung-do may be explained by “Oceanic island” status and Jeongseon, which showed the positive FIS (0.069) and genetic isolation may be caused by its location on the east side of Baekdudaegan and by on-going inbreeding with a small population size.

The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of kinesio taping on pulmonary function in stroke patients using manual wheelchairs. Twenty stroke patients were divided into a wood chair group (WCG, n=10), a wheelchairs group (WG, n=10), and a kinesio taping with wheelchairs group (KWG, n=10). Taping with wheelchairs group was applied kinesio taping on back muscles (vertical paraspinal strips and oblique strips). All three groups were trained in upright seated posture for 30 minutes. Pulmonary function tests were performed with forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow as spirometer. There was a significant increase in forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity only in KWG. The results of this study demonstrate that kinesio taping has an immediate effect on the improvement of pulmonary function in stroke patients using manual wheelchairs.

This study aimed to determine the effect of McKenzie lumbar support on pulmonary function in Stroke patients. Twenty subjects (n=20) were divided into two groups: a McKenzie lumbar support group (MLS group=10), a control group (n=10). Pulmonary function was performed to assess its effectiveness. A spirometer was used to measure the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF). The intervention was conducted for four weeks. In the MLS group, FEV1, FVC, and PEF were increased after McKenzie lumbar support. (p<0.05), while no significant differences in the variables were found in the control group (p>0.05). There were no significant differences in variables between the MLS group and the control group (p>0.05). Our findings suggest that applying Mckenzie lumbar support may be an alternative maneuver to improve pulmonary function in stroke patients.

스탠다드국화 신품종을 육성하기 위하여 충남농업기술원 화훼연구소에서 2009년에 황색의 모본 ‘Summer Yellow’와 부본 ‘ST07-09-02’계통을 인공 교배하였다. 2010년에 종자를 파종하였고, 이중 내병성이 강하고 기호성이 우수한 개체를 선발하여 ‘ST10-047-01’로 계통명을 부여하였다. 2011년부터 2013년까지 주년 생산성을 위해 촉성 및 자연, 억제재배 특성을 각각 검정하였으며, 2013년 ‘Geumhwa’로 명명하고 품종등록 출원하였다. ‘Geumhwa’의 생육 및 개화특성은 국내에서 많이 재배되고 있는 황색 스탠다드국화인 ‘Summer Yellow’를 대조 품종으로 하여 조사하였다. ‘Geumhwa’ 품종은 자연개화기가 10월 6일로 ‘Summer Yellow’의 10월 25일에 비해 빨랐다. ‘Geumhwa’는 초장이 86.3cm로 ‘Summer Yellow’의 93.8cm보다 작았고, 곁가지 제거수는 8.1개로 ‘Summer Yellow’의 16.6개보다 적었다. ‘Geumhwa’의 꽃직경은 13.6cm로 ‘Summer Yellow’의 13.5cm와 비슷하였으며, 꽃잎수는 ‘Geumhwa’가 263.6개로 ‘Summer Yellow’의 295.3개보다 적었다. 재배상 유의사항은 ‘Geumhwa’는 중간종이므로 초기생육이 왕성하도록 비배 관리를 하고 생육기간 중 지베렐린 1,000mg･L-1를 2회 처리하여 신장력을 높이도록 한다. 또한 설상화수가 적은 편이므로 재전조를 실시하여 설상화수를 늘린다면 황색의 연중 조기개화가 가능한 고품질 신품종 스탠다드 절화국화로써 소비자 기호 충족 및 농가소득 창출에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

The honey bee, Apis mellifera ligustica (Hymenoptera: Apidae), strain with a high hygienic behavior (HHB) has been bred for several years in Korea, and a diagnosis system to distinguish it from low hygienic behavior (LHB) strain has been necessitated. Thus, complete mitogenome of the two strains were sequenced through Next-Generation Sequencing technique to detect SNPs. Comparison of the mitogenome sequences from the two strains of A. m. ligustica have detected 23 SNPs in 11 PCGs and these were further confirmed the presence of SNPs using each 10 individuals selected randomly from each strain, indicating that these SNP markers might be useful to diagnose the honeybee strains with the HHB. Therefore, mitogenome sequences are promising genome source to detect SNP markers, particularly for inbred female iso-lines.

Ficus carica L. (common fig), one of the first plants cultivated by humans, originated in the Mediterranean basin and currently grows worldwide, including southwest Asia and South Korea. It has been used as a traditional medicine for treatment of metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as well as hemorrhoids and skin infections. Its pharmacological properties have recently been studied in detail, but research on the anti-cancer effect of its latex has been only been studied on a limited basis on several cell lines, such prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of the latex of Ficus carica L.and its underlying mechanism in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. (See Ed. note above) We confirmed through SDS-PAGE analysis and gelatinolytic activity analysis that the latex of Ficus carica contains cysteine protease ficin. Our data showed that the latex inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the latex treatment markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells as determined by FACS analysis, elevated expression level of cleaved caspase-9, -3 and PARP (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase), and. increased the expression of Bax (pro-apoptotic factor) while decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic factor). Taken together, these results suggested that latex containing the ficin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by caspase and the Bcl-2 family signaling pathway in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. These findings point to the potential of latex of Ficus carica to provide a novel chemotherapeutic drug due to its growth inhibition effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

This study used both kinesiotaping and extracorporeal shock wave therapy on patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder - a common musculoskeletal disorder in adults - in order to observe the effects on the joint range of motion. 21 adult(male 12, female 9) were selected and distributed into randomized groups. One group received kinesiotaping (n=10) and the other group received kinesiotaping together with extracorporeal shockwave therapy (n=11). After a 6 week duration of receiving kinesiotaping and extracorporeal shockwave therapy, changes in the joint range of motion in the patients were observed. Post-treatment of frozen shoulder, the changes in abduction within the shoulder joint were as follows: in both groups there was a noticeable increase in the joint range of motion (p<.05). Post-treatment of frozen shoulder, the changes in external rotation within the shoulder joint were as follows: both groups showed a significant increase in the joint range of motion (p<.05). The result of suggest that, it can be inferred that both the extracorporeal shockwave therapy and kinesiotaping are effective in increasing the joint range of motion in patients with frozen shoulder.

Microglia have multiple functions in regulating homeostasis of the central nervous system. Microglia cells have been implicated as active contributors to neuron damage in neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, medicinal plant extracts (MPEs) were used to evaluate the cell-death induction effect in microglia BV-2 cells. Among 35 MPEs tested in this study, 4 MPEs showed less than a 30% cell survival after 24 hours of incubation. These were Foeniculi Fructus, Forsythiae Fructus, Zingiberis Rhizoma and Hedera Rhombea. The concentration showed that 50% cell death (IC50) occurred with 33, 83, 67 Ed highlight: Please confirm wording, and 81 μ /ml, respectively. For further study, we chose Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR) which showed a reasonably low IC50 value and an induction of cell death in a relatively narrow range. Western blot analysis showed that ZR-treated cells showed activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP Ed highlight: When an acronym is first presented it needs to be spelled out in both dose- and time-dependent manners. However, the level of Bcl-2 and Bax were not changed by ZR-treatment in BV-2 cells. These results suggest that ZR-induced apoptosis in BV-2 cells occured through caspase-3 activation. The results also suggested that ZR may be useful in developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.