In Korea, two species, Anoplophora chinensis and Anoplophora glabripennis, have been recorded until now. Recently, outbreaks of Anoplophora spp. were reported locally in Seoul, Ulsan, Incheon, Gimhae, and Jeonju from 2015 to 2017. In this study, Anoplophora spp. were collected in the four regions, Ulsan, Incheon, Gimhae, and Jeonju, and their morphological and molecular characteristics were compared with those of Anoplophora spp. collected from several local regions. Twelve COI sequences of the Incheon/Gimhae/Ulsan/Jeonju populations in A. glabripennis were identical to KY357648, KY357652, and KY357651, and two COI sequences of Ulsan populations in A. chinensis were identical to AB439163. These sequences were generated from Chinese and Japanese Anoplophora samples by foreign researchers, suggesting the possibility of the invasion of Chinese and Japanese populations of Anoplophora spp. into Korea.

The genus Nola (Nolidae, Nolinae) was established by Leach (1815), with the Noctua palliola Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 (a junior subjective synonym of Phalaena cucullatella Linnaeus, 1758) from Vienna, Austria. Nola comprises over 200 species: Africa and western Palearctic approximately described 100 speices (Hacker et al., 2012); Oriental and Eastern Palearctic regions have over 100 species (László et al., 2010; Sasaki et al., 2011; Kononenko and Pinratana, 2013). Two species of the genus Nola Leach; Nola euryzonata (Hampson, 1900) and Nola lucidalis (Walker, 1865), reported for the first time in Laos. Illustrations of adults and genitalia of all the examined species are provided.

The stick insect fauna of Laos has been poorly studied to date. Only 4 species are recorded from the country: Medauroidea brongniarti (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907), Phobaeticus magnus Hennemann & Conle, 2008, Parapachymorpha spiniger (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907), Sipyloidea sipylus (Westwood, 1859). Assessment of their actual species richness is impeded by various unfavorable circumstances. Their cryptic and immobile lifestyle does not allow for easy trapping and collecting. The aim of this study is to update the taxonomic status of the order Phasmatodea in Laos for the future study.

Prostaglandin E2(PGE2) is an autocrine and paracrine signal in insects and other animals. Its signal pathways in target cells are well understood in mammalian system but not in insects. Here, we assessed PGE2 signaling in hemocytes of Spodoptera exigua through knocking-down of signal component genes by RNA interference (RNAi) and knocking-out (KO) of PGE2 receptor using CRISPR-Cas9. From S. exigua transcriptome, we selected hemocyte signaling components and analyzed their functions in cellular immune responses through RNAi. KO mutant against PGE2 receptor exhibited severely hampered larval development and adult fecundity.

The insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is due to synergistic interactions among its four major proteins (Cry4Aa, Cry4Ba, Cry11Aa, Cyt1Aa), while the activity of Lysinibacillus sphaericus (Ls) is due to a binary toxin (Bin) consisting of a toxin domain, BinA, and a midgut receptor-binding domain, BinB. Although used commercially for almost three decades, reports of mosquito resistance to Bti have been rare. However, levels of resistance greater than 10,000-fold to Bin have been reported where Ls has been used intensively for mosquito control. Cyt1Aa is a lipophilic protein, and in previous studies we showed it delays the evolution of resistance to the Cry proteins of Bti, and can overcome high levels of resistance Bin. In a previous study, we fused Cyt1Aa to BinA, using the lipophile as a broad-spectrum binding domain and showed that the Cyt1Aa-BinA chimera was remarkably toxic to five major vector species of mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae, An. stephensi, An. quadrimaculatus, Bin-sensitive and Bin-resistant strains of Culex quinquifasciatus, and Aedes aegypti, the latter not normally sensitive to Ls. However, toxicity against Aedes aegypti was not as high as against other mosquito species. Here we show that introducing another highly mosquitocidal protein, Cry11B from B. thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan, enhances the chimera’s toxicity against Ae. aegypti significantly but not against Cx. quinquefasciatus.

Vespa velutina is a predatory hornet distributing in SouthEastern part of Asia and became invasive in early 2000s; invading into Korea in 2003 and France in 2004. Its distribution pattern showed typical species-invasion curve type with slow progress in the beginning and rapid expansion on ward. We determined the geographic spread of V. velutina with CLIMEX modeling. The model analysis indicates that the ecoclimatic indices (EI) increased as the projection year increased based on RCP8.5 scenario. Then the predicted EI values were further regressed with the field collected data from 2018. Vespa velutina population sizes were estimated from 230 points of sampling over the country and the sampling data were correlated with predicted EI values. The results indicated that partial contribution of the climate factors for its abundance. Also this could be an usual biological indicator of climate change in agroecosystem in Korea. Given the important risk and impact on beekeeping, socio-biological as well as ecosystem and biodiversity levels, careful monitoring of phenology, range expansion and preventive efforts mitigating the impact are further required.

The oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera doralis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a tropical pest, have recently been expanded to temperate region neighboring with Korea, with increasing international trade and global climate change. The biological data of several B. dorsalis complex was collected, and the establishment potential in Korea was examined using ecoclimatic index and population model results obtained from CLIMEX and Popmodel, respectively. In the CLIMEX, B. dorsalis could be established in the small part of Jeju Island in the 2010s, and the range gradually spread until the 2090s, and many parts of the lowland of Jeju Island were assigned in the marginal to optimal range. Using the population model and the temporal distribution of the host fruits, it was found that B. dorsalis can use a variety of host plants without time lag, allowing them to increase its population and to damage citrus, the main crop of Jeju.

The PCA’s decision refusing historic rights concerning the 9-DL cannot be enforced because the decision advantaging the Philippines has already been rejected by China. It, however, may be as a reference for some states to negotiate, since an optimistic atmosphere emerges among the disputing parties. The readiness for negotiation among them clearly requires that parties should not have rigid attitudes but should show flexibility based on the reciprocity principle. On one side, the PRC should set aside its typical intention to dominate most parts of the South China Sea as its traditional fishing ground based on historic rights concerning the 9-DL. On the other side, the Philippines should guarantee the regional stability and peace without questioning the real sovereignty of the PRC over several natural features, possibly related to the 9-DL claimed as its historic rights. The 9-DL is incompatible with the UNCLOS.

The US-Korea FTA, in its initial days of negotiation saw severe protests by public and political turmoil in Seoul. After crossing several procedural hoops and political hurdles in parliaments of both countries it became effective in 2012, though it was signed in 2007. At that time, it was considered by the US a ‘model agreement’ which could open opportunities for the US exporters in the Korean market. However, only couple of years later, the Trump administration called this FTA a ‘horrible’ deal that has ‘destroyed’ America. Thus, the Trump administration wanted to scrap the FTA. After considering the political implications of such action, the US government decided to re-negotiate the FTA so that the US concerns are addressed. In a short period of negotiation, both sides agreed to the revised terms of the FTA which has become effective from January 1, 2019. This paper analyses outcomes of the revised US-Korea FTA, 2018 from the US perspective and evaluate if all concerns of the US are met.

고치벌과에 속하는 Helconinae아과의 Schizoprymnus terebralis (Snoflák, 1953)을 한국에서 처음으로 보고한다. 본 종의 재기재, 진단, 숙주 정보 그리고 삽화를 제공한다.

본 연구를 통해 잔디주머니나방속이 국내에서 처음 발견되어 보고한다. 잔디주머니나방속내 잔디주머니나방에 대한 성충, 유충, 번데기 등 형태학적 특징을 재기재하였다. 또한 신속한 종 동정을 위한 DNA바코드 정보를 제공하였다.

This study was conducted to determine the applicability of the shoot growth model to cut roses grown at high temperatures. Two cultivars of cut roses, ‘Antique Curl’ and ‘Beast’, were cultivated in growth chambers set to night/day temperatures of 24/20°C for the control group and 32/28°C for the treatment group. The shoot growth model, which resulted in high coefficients of determination (R2 = 0.80 and 0.62, respectively, for ‘Antique Curl’ and ‘Beast’), was a good predictor of the decrease in the growth of rose shoots for both treatment groups. Although the model produced good results for both the control and treatment groups of ‘Antique Curl’, the accuracy of the model can be improved by using the modified leaf area at the harvest stage. From these results, the model was confirmed to perform well for predicting a decrease in productiveness and quality in cut roses cultivated during summer under high temperatures.

The growing demand for nano-structured composite materials and sustainable processes for next generation CO2 capture technologies has necessitated the need to develop novel and cost-effective synthetic routes for solid CO2 adsorbents based on hypercross-linked polymers (HCPs) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) microporous sorbent materials with improved physico-chemical properties. The most important selection is modification of the synthesized microporous sorbent materials by the incorporation of RGO, giving rise to composite materials that combine the properties of both. These hybrid materials will be of great potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications, especially for post-combustion CO2 capture, owing to the increase in CO2 capturing efficiency and selectivity to CO2 compared to other flue gases. Herein, we report a facile and effective approach for fabrication of HCPs-supported reduced graphene oxide composites. The microporous HCPs was synthesized using 4,4′-bis(chloromethyl)-1,1′-biphenyl monomer by Friedel–Crafts alkylation. The RGO was prepared by modified Hammers method. The as-synthesized composites were characterized by TEM, SEM, FTIR, TGA and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm. The HCP/RGO composite showed maximum CO2 adsorption of 5.1 wt% than the HCPs alone at 40 °C and 1 atm.

Carboxylated multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH) was functionalized with 3-amino-5-phenylpyrazole (MWCNTs- f) and characterized by FTIR, EDX, SEM, XRD and TGA. The MWCNTs-COOH and MWCNTs-f were used for the adsorption of Cd(II), Hg(II), and As(III) ions from aqueous solutions. Additionally, to study the influence of pH, adsorbent dose, and initial ions concentration on the adsorption process, the central composite design (CCD) was applied. The quadratic model was used for analysis of variance and indicated that adsorption of metal ions strongly depends on pH. Timedependent adsorption can be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and adsorption process was modeled by Langmuir isotherm for the adsorbents. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption of Cd(II), Hg(II) and As(III) ions were spontaneous and endothermic. Moreover, the competitive adsorption capacities of the heavy metal ions were slightly lower than noncompetitive ones. The same affinity order was observed under noncompetitive and competitive adsorption: As(III) > Cd(II) > Hg(II) in the case of MWCNTs-f. Desorption study revealed the favorable regeneration ability of adsorbents powders, even after three adsorption–desorption cycles.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of joint mobilization and manual stretching exercises in patients with hallux valgus. Twenty-three participants were divided into two groups; joint mobilization (n=11) and manual stretching exercises (n=12). The subjects participated in the experiment for 15minutes, three times a week, four weeks. The joint mobilization (Grade III, Maitland) was performed to experimental group for a minute and then rested for 10 seconds for each set. The manual stretching was performed to control group with three exercise session (preparatory and finishing exercises, agonist contraction exercises, agonist contraction and hold-relax exercises). In the results of the study, intragroup comparison of the deformity angles (DA) was shown to decrease from 15.18° to 13.09° in the joint mobilization group (p<.05) and from 19.00° to 16.83° in the stretching exercises group (p<.05). However, left static foot pressure (LSFP), right static foot pressure (RSFP), left dynamic foot pressure (LDFP) and right dynamic foot pressure (RDFP) did not significantly increase or decrease after the experiment. Intergroup differences also were not statistically significant in all variables (p>.05). The current study suggests that JM and MSE are effective in decreasing the DA in patients with hallux valgus.

목적: 전기를 띄는 천연광석물질인 토르말린을 안경 전체부분에 적용하여 인간의 안구 내 신진대사에 관련된 요소들 중 하나인 안압(Intraocular pressure: IOP)의 변화를 관찰하였다. 방법: 안경테의 주재료인 TR-90과 토르말린 7 wt%을 혼합하여 안경테를 제작 후, 20대의 90명(남자 46명, 여자 44명)을 대상으로 토르말린 안경테의 착용 전과 후의 안압변화를 정상 안압범위에서 Low, Middle, High 그룹으로 안압에 따라 나누어 관찰하였다. 결과: 토르말린 안경테를 착용 후, 우안에서 전체안압은 –4.14 %로 감소하였고(p<0.000), High와 Middle 그룹에서 각각 –6.39 %(p<0.000), -4.64 %(p<0.017)로 유의하게 감소하였다. 좌안에서 전체안압은 –2.74 %(p<0.004)로 감소하였고, High 그룹에서만 –4.58 %(p<0.000)로 통계적으로 유의한 값을 나타내었다. 결론: 본 연구에서 제작한 7 wt% 토르말린이 함유된 안경테를 사용하여, 안경테를 착용 후 안압이 유의하게 감소되어 정상 안압범위의 평균 수치와 근접해지는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 연구결과로 인해 신체의 신진대사와 혈액순환을 촉진시키는 효과를 가진 토르말린을 안경테에 접목함으로써 안압의 정상화에 대한 효과를 나타내는 것으로 확인할 수 있었다.

This study was performed to investigate the effect of types of oil (OVOIL vs. OIL) on B6D2F1 mice oogenesis. In this study, B6D2F1 F1 mice were used in order to maximize oogenesis. The expansion rate of cumulus cells (82.0%±0.2 vs. 78.0%±0.1), in vitro fertilization rate (92.0%±0.1 vs. 88.0%±0.1), developmental rate (91.0%±0.1 vs. 87.0%±0.2), blastocysts formation rate (56.0%±0.1 vs. 57.0%±0.1), and zona hatched rate(41.4%±0.2 vs. 24.0%±0.1) were not different between groups (NS; P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference in maturation rate; the OVOIL group showed higher maturation rate compared to that of the OIL group (96.0%±0.1 vs. 87.0%±0.1; P<0.05). In the blastocysts cell numbers, the total cell numbers (83.9±26.1 vs. 56.9±23.9), ICM cell numbers (15.7±8.8 vs. 6.3±3.5), TE cell numbers (68.3±25.7 vs. 50.7±24.1), % ICM (21.6%±0.1 vs. 12.7%±0.1), and the ratio of ICM:TE (1:6.2±6.5 vs. 1:10.3±7.0) were significantly higher in the OVOIL group than the OIL group (P<0.05). These results suggested that it is expected to achieve the more developmental ability of B6D2F1 mice depending on the type of oil (OVOIL vs. OIL). In addition, the results can provide essential information for culture condition on B6D2F1 mice. Henceforth, thus, it is expected that these results herein might be used for in vitro culture of human embryos.

Nitrogen-doped carbons have attracted much attention due to their novel application in relation to gas storage. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbons were synthesized using SBA-15 as a template, polypyrrole as the carbon and nitrogen precursor, and KOH as an activating agent. The effect of the activation temperature (600–850°C) on the CO2 adsorption capacity of the obtained porous carbons was studied. Characterization of the resulting carbons showed that they were micro-/meso-porous carbon materials with a well-developed pore structure that varied with the activation temperature. The highest surface area of 1488 m2 g–1 was achieved at an activation temperature of 800°C (AC-800). The nitrogen content of the activated carbon decreased from 4.74 to 1.39 wt% with an increase in the activation temperature from 600 to 850°C. This shows that nitrogen is oxidized and more easily removed than carbon during the activation process, which indicates that C-N bonds are more easily ruptured at higher temperatures. Furthermore, CO2 adsorption isotherms showed that AC-800 exhibited the best CO2 adsorption capacity of 110 mg g–1 at 298 K and 1 bar.