A surveillance of chigger mites was performed to monitor the incidence of scrub typhus vectors at 5 environmental collection points of 3 locations (Muju, Namwon and Gimge) from April 2016 in Jeollabuk-Do, Korea. During the surveillance period, 3,292 chigger mites were collected and the predominant species were Leptotrombidium pallidum (42.9%). The high environmental collecting rates were recorded at reservoir bank (31.6%) and grassfield (29.7%). We detected Orientia tsutsugamushi from the samples collected in Jeollabuk-Do using nested polymerase chain reaction. The specific DNA of O. tsutsugamushi were detected in 11 pools among total 119 pools and its minimum positive rate was 0.35%. In order to clarify the relationship between chigger mites and scrub typhus cases, further survey will be needed.

Bee pollen have been used for centuries as a kind of traditional medicine and food diets additive due to their nutritional and biological properties. The present study was to evaluate the biological features of ethanol extracts of 18 different bee pollen (EEBP) samples collected from 16 locations of South Korea. Our results indicated most of the EEBP samples showed 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, inhibitory activities against human β-amyloid precursor cleavage enzyme (BACE-1), and antiproliferative activities towards five cancer cell lines. However, these EEBP samples did not present human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities, and intestinal bacteria growth inhibitory activities.

This study was conducted to investigate changes in the proximate composition, antioxidant activities, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) cladodes cultivated in Jeju (JJ1, JJ2, JJ3) and Jeonnam (JN1, JN2). The difference in the proximate composition (crude protein, lipid and ash content) of OFI between the two regions was not significant. Ca, Mg and Na were the major mineral components of OFI. The ascorbic acid content of OFI ranged from 57.87 to 143.72 mg/100 g. A 70% ethanol extract was used to investigate the antioxidant content and activity as well as the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of OFI were 38.69~55.29 and 3.33~4.03 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activities based on the DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assays were 45.19~ 61.52% and 39.15~51.96%, respectively, at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. The inhibitory activity of OFI extracts against rat intestinal α-glucosidase was 29.72~45.73% at 1 mg/mL concentration, and JN1 showed the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. This information could be very useful for authentication of Opuntia species with the highest potential as sources of nutritional and therapeutic elements.

The aim of this study was to investigate the method validation for the determination of loganin content in Cornus officinalis (CO). This medicinal plant reportedly mainly included loganin. The specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and quantification (LOQ) were measured by HPLC/DAD. Our results showed that high linearity in the coefficient of calibration correlation (R2) for loganin standard was 1. LOD and LOQ for loganin were 0.007 and 0.026 mg/mL, respectively. The recovery rate of loganin was revealed to be in the high range of 95.14-105.45%. The relative standard deviation of intra- and inter-day precision of loganin in CO was 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively. The loganin content of CO from Gurye, Uiseng, Ichoen, and China were 7.81, 3.41, 7.42, and 6.52 mg/g, respectively. In conclusion, these methods were validated for the detection of loganin in CO.

After Tza Yap Shum v. Peru, the case of Sanum v. Laos, brought by a Macanese investor, reattracted public attention to the critical issue of the applicability of the People’s Republic of China Bilateral Investment Treaties in China’s Special Administrative Regions. The Permanent Court of Arbitration held the PRC-Laos BIT extends to Macao according to the purpose and context of the BIT, but its reasoning is not tenable as its logic is flawed. In comparison, in the appeal, the conclusion reached by the Singapore High Court seems plausible, but there are still queries to the Court’s admission of further evidence. The author argues that the PRC BITs are not applicable to Macao and Hong Kong, on the basis of analyzing the treaty interpretation methodologies of this case. Notwithstanding the fact that the final award has not been rendered as of now, the Sanum v. Laos Case carries significant meaning to investment protection in China’s SARs.

This paper examines how the Chinese government reduces economic disparities across regions and industries through the mean of tax benefits among enterprises. This paper applies multiple regression, which proves that the Chinese government imposed favorable effective tax rates (ETR) on the technology industries in Eastern areas and plantation industries in Western areas at the expense of other industries located in the Central and Northeast areas. This result has several implications. First, the government tried to achieve political stability through its fiscal policy, facing a fundamental dilemma such as farmers' movements against high fee burdens and the political dissatisfaction of minorities in Western areas in China. Second, as the tax is favorable for high-tech companies in Eastern areas, the investments of high-tech companies in these areas is more effective than in other areas.

In this study, we compared diet related attributes such as food taste preference, food consumption frequency and nutrition intake between elderly residents in their 80’s of areas in Jeollanam-do that are well known for longevity and those of a part of Seoul. Structured in-depth interviews were conducted by trained interviewers on 125 consented subjects (67 Jeonnam and 58 Seoul). Differences of groups were tested using Chi-square tests for nominal or ordinal data and t-tests and ANOVA tests for ratio data. The elderly from Jeonnam tended to sleep longer, express emotion more freely, and interact with others more often than those from Seoul. The elderly tended to prefer sweet or salty tastes, which might be highly related to serious health problems. The most frequently consumed foods were napa cabbage kimchi (2.19 times/day) and multigrain rice (1.99 times/day). Elderly from Jeonnam tended to consume garlic, milk, beans and roasted barley/corn teas less often; whereas, they consumed porridge, dried radish greens, potato, fermented fish, dried fish, pork rib, pork belly, soybean paste soup, soybean paste/Ssamjang, other kimchis, pickled vegetables, snacks, cookies, and green/black teas more often than elderly residents from Seoul. Differences in nutrition intake between the regions were greater than differences between the perceived levels of household economic status. NAR and INQ for folate were lower among elderly from Jeonnam than those from Seoul, while those for protein, vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B6 were higher. The study results indicated that elderly from Jeonnam engaged in a more diverse diet than the elderly from Seoul.

최고품질 벼 칠보의 적정 수확시기를 구명하고자 농업환경이 서로 다른 밀양, 사천, 함양, 상주, 울진 등 5개 지역에서벼를 재배한 후 각 지역별 최적 수확시기를 검토한 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 기후대에 따라 출수기에서 출수 후 60일까지의 평균기온은 사천이 가장 높았고, 상주가 가장 낮았다. 상주는 평균기온의 저하정도가 다른 지역에 비해 컸으며 울진은 등숙기 평균기온은 낮았지만 온도저하 정도는 가장 적었다. 2. 지역별로 최고수량을 나타내는 수확시기는 지역간의 차이가 있었는데, 백미수량은 밀양과 함양이 60일, 울진과 상주는 55일, 사천은 45일이었고, 완전미 수량은 상주, 사천, 함양은 60일, 밀양, 울진이 50일로 대체로 출수후 50 ~ 60일 사이었다. 이를 적산온도로 환산할 경우 밀양, 함양은 1,200oC, 상주는 1,050oC, 사천, 울진은 1,100oC 부근이었다. 3. 각 지역별로 최고수량을 나타낸 수확시기의 수량을 100으로 표준화하고 나머지 수확시기별 수량을 상대적 비율로 수정하여 적산온도와의 관계를 검토한 결과 칠보의 백미 및 완전미 수량은 적산온도가 1,100oC가 될 때까지 증가하였으며,증가속도는 적산온도 100oC마다 5% 정도였다. 적산온도1,100oC 이후에는 수량증가는 보이지 않았으나 지나친 수확지연은 품질저하가 우려되므로 칠보의 수확적기는 지역에 관계없이 출수 후 적산온도 1,100 ~ 1,200oC 범위로 판단되었다.

Propolis collected from botanical sources by honey bee, has been used as a popular natural remedies in folk medicine throughout the world. This study was conducted to assess growth inhibitory effects of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEPs) from 20 different regions in South Korea on human intestinal bacteria as well as BACE-1, AChE inhibitory, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and anti-human rhinovirus activities. Correlation coefficient (r) analysis of the biological activities of EEP samples was determined using their 50% inhibition concentration or minimal inhibitory concentration values and their polyphenol or flavonoid contents in 20 Korean EEP samples. Correlation coefficient analysis showed that total polyphenol contents may be negatively correlated with DPPH free radical scavenging activity (r = –0.872) and total flavonoid content has no correlation with the activity (r = 0.071). No direct correlation between BACE-1 inhibition, AChE inhibition, or antiproliferative activity and total polyphenol or total flavonoid content in Korean EEP samples was found.

How high-mass stars form is currently unclear. Calculations suggest that the radiation pressure of a forming star can halt spherical infall, preventing further growth when it reaches 10 M⊙. Two major theoretical models on the further growth of stellar mass have been proposed. One model suggests the merging of less massive stellar objects, and the other is through accretion, but with the help of a disk. In ow motions are key evidence for how forming stars gain further mass to build up massive stars. Recent developments in technology have boosted the search for in ow motion. A number of high-mass collapse candidates were obtained with single dish observations, and mostly showed blue proles. Infalling signatures seem to be more common in regions which have developed radiation pressure than in younger cores, which is the opposite of the theoretical prediction and is also very different from observations of low mass star formation. Interferometer studies so far confirm this tendency with more obvious blue profiles or inverse P Cygni profiles. Results seem to favor the accretion model. However, the evolution of the infall motion in massive star forming cores needs to be further explored. Direct evidence for monolithic or competitive collapse processes is still lacking. ALMA will enable us to probe more detail of the gravitional processes.