Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) functions as an apoptotic adapter in mammals, recruiting caspases for death-inducing signaling complexes, while in lower animals, it interacts with IMD and DREDD to initiate antimicrobial responses. In this study, we examined the T. molitor FADD sequence (TmFADD) using molecular informatics methods to understand its involvement in the host's immune response against microorganisms. Knocking down TmFADD transcripts resulted in increased susceptibility of T. molitor larvae to E. coli, underscoring the significance of FADD in insect defense mechanisms and providing valuable insights into insect immunity.

Tenebrio molitor(T. molitor) is gaining attention as a sustainable food source with high nutrient content. Understanding their immune system, paricularly the role of Tak1 in the Imd pathway, is essential for mass breeding. This study investigates TmTak1 function in T. molitor. we investigated the immune function of TmTak1, followed by systemic infection using E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans. As a result, Silencing TmTak1 significantly affects expression levels of AMPs in the whole body, Fat bodies, and Integuments. These results showed lower expression levels of AMP compared to the control group during E.coli injection.

This study focused on the genomic analysis of Anopheles kleini and Anopheles pullus, both vectors of vivax malaria within the Anopheles Hyrcanus group. Using Illumina NovaSeq600 and Oxford Nanopore platforms, we identified 126 and 116 contigs, along with 40,420 and 32,749 genes from An. kleini and An. pullus, respectively. The assembled genome sizes were 282 Mb for An. kleini and 247 Mb for An. pullus, which are within a similar range to the sizes previously estimated by digital PCR (249 Mb and 226 Mb). We are currently also estimating the genome sizes of other Anopheles spp. and manually curating key genes determining vectorial capacity.

The recent increase in the occurrence of common bed bug and tropical bed bug in shared areas highlights the need for rapid species identification at infestation sites, which is crucial for implementing targeted control measures due to differences in genetic and physiological traits. In this study, molecular diagnostic methods were developed using species-specific ITS2 sequences. Both multiplex PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) protocols with a DNA release method successfully distinguished between the two bed bug species regardless of developmental stages in 0.5~2.5 hours, even with dead specimens. Especially, LAMP's simplicity and speed make it applicable for rapid and accurate bed bug diagnosis at infestation sites.

The brown planthopper (BPH) and white-backed planthopper (WBPH), significant rice pests, cannot overwinter in Korea and primarily originate and migrate from Southeast Asia and China, where they cause considerable damage. These planthoppers, along with other pests, annually migrate to the Korean Peninsula. Monitoring their migration is essential for controlling their populations and maintaining agricultural productivity. Traditional monitoring methods often struggle with timeliness due to time and manpower constraints. To address this, we developed the Smart Aerial Net Traps (SANT) for immediate tracking of pests. The SANT system is installed in 43 locations across the country and has been used for over 10 years to track migrating insects. Our research shows that SANT is a more effective method for monitoring migratory pests compared to traditional methods. SANT enables real-time tracking of various migratory pests and can also be utilized in different areas, such as analyzing pest population changes and determining pest origins through the study of air currents.

The chemical composition of 86 species of native plants in Korea, including plants to be afforestation, was analyzed. The chemical composition of the species analyzed was different. The species with the highest extractable content was Viburnum dilatatum (3.91%), and the species with the lowest extractable content was Ligustrum lucidum (0.11%). The lignin content ranged from 12 to 39%, with an average of 25%. The species with the highest lignin content was Chaenomeles lagenaria (39.37%). Hemicellulose content ranged from 18 to 52%, with the highest species being Thuja occidentalis (51.22%) and Eucommia ulmoides (48.84%). Cellulose content ranged from 25 to 58%, and the species with the highest content were Prunus serrulata (57.67%), Diospyros kaki (57.14%), Aesculus turbinata (53.29%), Albizia julibrissin (53.02%), and Zelkova serrata (52.29%). The chemical composition was different for each use taxon of 86 plant species. The lignin content was the highest in the fruit group and the lowest in the group other than recommended species for afforestation. Cellulose content was highest in non-reforestation-recommended tree species and lowest in fruit trees. In classification according to tree height, lignin content was higher in shrubs than in tall trees, and cellulose content was highest in tall trees. Between deciduous and evergreen trees, the lignin content was high in deciduous trees (26.46%), and the cellulose content was also high in deciduous trees (44.01%). As a result of analyzing the correlation between each compound, there was a difference. There tended to be a positive correlation between extractives and lignin content. There was a negative correlation between extractives and holocellulose content, hemicellulose and cellulose. The higher extract content affected the cellulose content much more than hemicellulose. Also, the higher the lignin content, the lower the cellulose content. The species with low lignin content and high cellulose content were Diospyros kaki and Prunus serrulata var. spontanea. This result is expected to be primary data for bioenergy, pulp industry and bioindustry.

The effect of the surrounding vegetation on the seed germination and growth of mountain-cultivated ginseng (MCG, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) was investigated. Seed germination rate and growth were tested for allelopathy effects on four forest tree species after treatment with fallen leaves and leaf extracts. In the case of soil treatment through fallen leaves and crushed leaves, the germination rate was lower in the Quercus myrsinifolia treatments, and the average germination time was slower when Chamaecyparis obtusa was treated. In the case of Pinus densiflora and Quercus variabilis, which are used in most of the MCG cultivation areas, they did not have a significant effect on seed germination. In the fallen leaves treatments, the stem showed a tendency to lengthen. The hot water extract treatment showed a higher germination percentage than the cold water extract treatment. The extract treatment showed a deficient germination percentage of some MCG seeds. However, in the case of the treatments except for this, the germination percentage was similar to that of the control treatment. However, the Mean Germination Time, germination rate, and germination value were faster and higher than the control treatment. As a result of calculating the allelopathic index (AI) of MCG according to the extract treatment of 4 species, most had a negative effect on germination, and P. densiflora and Q. variabilis extracts showed the most significant effect. The ginsenoside content was higher in the fallen leaves treatment than in the control. The above results will help select and manage MCG plantations.

주변 국가인 태국, 캄보디아, 베트남, 라오스 등에서 벼멸구(Nilaparvata lugens)와 흰등멸구(Sogatella furcifera)를 채집하던 중, 벼멸구와 형태가 아주 유사한 이삭멸구(N. muiri)와 벼멸구붙이(N. bakeri), 그리고 흰등 멸구와 형태가 아주 유사한 흰등멸구붙이(S. kolophon), 피멸구(S. vibix) 그리고 애멸구(Laodelphax striatellus)가 동시에 채집이 되는 등 형태적 차이점이 거의 없어 전문가도 쉽게 구분하지 못하는 문제가 있음이 확인되었다. 따라서 형태가 유사한 상기 멸구류의 종 동정을 확실히 할 수 있는 PCR용 프라이머의 개발을 위해 벼멸구 및 흰등멸구의 미토콘드리아 내 COI 영역을 특이적으로 검출할 수 있는 프라이머 세트를 제작하고 종 동정 효과를 확인하였다.

To improve the quality of jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Miller var. hoonensis), which is a fruit of health functional, the effect of polyphenol preparation treatment on the fruit characteristics of two cultivars (cv. Bokjo and cv. Sangwang) of jujube was investigated. There was no difference in the height and breast diameter of jujubes tested between the polyphenol treatments and non treatment. Jujube trees treated with polyphenol preparation produced significantly more fruit than untreated in both cultivars. In cvultivar of Bokjo, the polyphenol preparation treatment increased the fruit's fresh weight and dry weight more than two times, respectively, compared to the untreated treatment. Polyphenol preparation tr eatments also changed the leaf characteristics of jujube trees. In the polyphenol-treated trees, leaf thickness tended to be thickest at the top and thinnest at the bottom. Polyphenol preparation treated jujube trees showed no difference in chlorophyll content. Moisture content was slightly higher in the untreatment than in the treatments. Visually, the polyphenol preparation treatment had a dark green color. Jujubes treated with polyphenol preparations showed differences in polyphenol content in fruits. The polyphenol content in both peel and flesh of the treatments were much higher than that of the untreatment. Reducing sugar was contained more in the peel than in the flesh and was higher in the untreatment than in the polyphenol preparation treatments. Treatment with polyphenol preparation showed differences in fruit appearance. As described above, it was found that the treatment of polyphenol preparation changed the leaves, fruit shapes and components of jujube trees. In particular, jujubes treated with polyphenol preparations are expected to contribute significantly to eco-friendly and highly functional jujube cultivation, as they appear to produce many fruits and increase the content of polyphenols and sugars.

When decommissioning a nuclear power plant, the structure must be made to a disposable size. In general, the cutting process is essential when dismantling a nuclear power plant. Mainly, thermal cutting method is used to cutting metal structures. The aerosols generated during thermal cutting have a size distribution of less than 1 μm. The contaminated structures are able to generate radioactive aerosols in the decommissioning. Radioactive aerosols of 1 μm or less are deposited in the respiratory tract by workers’ breathing, causing the possibility of internal exposure. Therefore, workers must be protected from the risk of exposure to radioactive aerosols. Prior knowledge of aerosols generated during metal cutting is important to ensure worker safety. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of the aerosol were evaluated by measuring the number and mass concentrations of aerosols generated when cutting SUS304 and SA508 using the laser cutting method. High-resolution aerosol measuring equipment (HR-ELPI+, DEKATI) was used to measure the concentration of aerosols. The HR-ELPI+ is an impactor-type aerosol measuring equipment that measures the aerosol number concentration distribution in the aerodynamic diameter range of 6 nm to 10 um in real-time. And analyze the mass concentration of the aerosol according to the diameter range through the impactor. ICP-MS was used for elemental mass concentration analysis in the aerosol. Analytical elements were Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn. For the evaluation of physical and chemical properties, the MMAD of each element and CMAD were calculated in the aerosol distribution. Under the same cutting conditions, it was confirmed that the number concentration of aerosols generated from both materials had a uni-modal distribution with a peak around 0.1 um. CMAD was calculated to be 0.072 um for both SUS304 and SA508. The trend of the CMAD calculation results is the same even when the cutting conditions are changed. In the case of MMAD, it was confirmed that SUS304 had an MMAD of around 0.1 μm in size for only Fe, Cr and Mn. And SA508, Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn were all confirmed to have MMAD around 0.1 μm in size. The results of this study show that a lot of aerosols in the range of less than 1 μm, especially around 0.1 μm in size, are generated when metal is cut using laser cutting. Therefore, in order to protect the internal exposure of workers to laser metal cutting when decommissioning NPPs, it is necessary to protect from nano-sized aerosols beyond micron size.