In this review, we have tried to summarize the evidence and molecular characterization indicating that 20α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20α-HSD) is a group of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) family, and it plays roles in the modulation and regulation of steroid hormones. This enzyme plays a critical role in the regulation of luteal function in female mammals. We have studied the molecular expression and regulation of 20α-HSD in cows, pigs, deer, and monkeys. The specific antibody against bovine 20α-HSD was generated in a rabbit immunized with the purified recombinant protein. The mRNA expression levels increased gradually throughout the estrous cycle, the highest being in the corpus luteum (CL) 1 stage. The mRNA was also specifically detected in the placental and ovarian tissues during pregnancy. The 20α-HSD protein was intensively localized in the large luteal cells and placental cytotrophoblast villus, glandular epithelial cells of the endometrium, syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta, the isthmus cells of the oviduct, and the basal part of the primary chorionic villi and chorionic stem villus of the placenta and large luteal cells of the CL in many mammalian species. Further studies are needed to determine the functional significance of the 20α- HSD molecule during ovulation, pregnancy, and parturition. This article will review how fundamental information of these enzymes can be exploited for a better understanding of the reproductive organs during ovulation and pregnancy.

In the United States and Europe, new environmentally friendly asphalt pavement has been researched as an alternative to traditional hot asphalt pavement. After the Paris Convention of 2015, policies should be found to reduce carbon dioxide. In the field of asphalt pavement, new methods are needed to reduce carbon dioxide from the traditional hot asphalt pavement. In Korea, waste asphalt is growing and natural aggregate is running dry. So the government is implementing policies to increase the use of waste resources. So, it created a new asphalt pavement method to reduce CO2 and use waste asphalt. It is a cold recycled asphalt pavement. Emulsified asphalt has a balance of dispersibility, stability, and adhesive between water, aggregates, and asphalt. But, the physical properties of emulsified asphalt can be degraded compared to traditional hot asphalt pavement. So there are limitations in actual use. The study compared the softening point, elastic recovery, and penetration properties of asphalt mix compounds by using latex in emulsified asphalt. In particular, cations latex was used for the emulsified asphalt, which could further improve the physical properties.

Roller Compacted Concrete Pavement (RCCP) is a pavement placed and compacted using an asphalt paver and a compaction roller by applying a small amount of concrete mixture and shows excellent structural performance as a result of hydration reaction of cement and interlocking of aggregates by roller compaction. It also provides economic advantages over conventional concrete pavements by reducing unit cement content and construction period, simplifying construction process, and decreasing traffic closure time (Wayne, 2006). However, given that it tends to show lower IRI levels than common concrete pavements since its low unit water content and binder weight ratios make uniform quality control difficult and roller compaction after paving makes the surface irregular and rough, with rough profile at the bottom of the pavement being reflected on the surface, RCCP is used mainly in port and industrial roads for low speed (60km/h or less) traffic (Dale Harringtion, 2010; Gregory, 2009). In order to apply RCCP to high-speed roadways, diamond grinding (DG) or asphalt overlay that is highly effective in improving roughness is needed (Fares Abdo, 2014; Gregory, 2009). Applying DG over RCCP leads to excellent skid resistance and noise reduction effects as a great percentage of aggregates makes the pavement surface rough, enhancing durability of concrete and the life of DG functionality. In addition, RCCP can be used as a high performance base layer of composite pavements, as it can reduce reflecting cracking at joints and cracked sections thanks to early strength development and low drying shrinkage of concrete. In this study, we assessed longitudinal roughness improvement effects by roughness-affecting factor by applying DG methods and asphalt overlays to three RCCP sites with a variety of sub-structural conditions and analyzed the effects on roughness of existing RCC pavements depending on surfacing method (DG, APOverlay).

Roads in Korea are equipped with PMS (Pavement Management System) computation data that runs on highway, national highway and municipal road. PMS is a program that selects and manages the road pavement optimal maintenance alternative as a indicator of the road pavement structural and functional performance. PMS is a system that has been developed for the primary purpose of maintaining the structural performance of road pavement, and so far does not include any indicators associated with the safety of road users. However, the road cave-in, which have recently become an issue on social networking sites, mass-media, and other issues, should pose systematically because it can make a safety risk to road users, and in particular lead to the structural and functional failure of the PMS program in view of the road pavement. Accordingly, this research has developed a practical use case for developing an integrated road cave-in management program based on the results of various studies on the exploration, analysis, assessment and handling of the existing road cave-in in Korea.

The composition of the deicer sprayed on the highway is spreading over the highway by the scattering or snow removal activity, or car movement and consequently affecting the vegetation environment around the highway. These are the cause of the damage of fruit trees and crops, and also the cause of corrosion of highway structures. The goal of this study is to estimate the detected range of deicer components from a highway. The concentration of the deicer components in gauze and soil were investigated according to the crossing distance from the highway. The data collected were then used to estimate the concentration range of deicer components in a rage of distance up to 100 m from the highway where the deicer was spread. The sample time and weight of gauze were measured before and after installation, and the soil was collected at more than three points in parallel with the highway at the gauze installation point. The components in gauze and soil were investigated in addition to the deicer components (Ca2+, Na+, Cl-) as well as Mg2+ and K+. As Ca2+ and Cl- components of deicer were affected by agricultural use, Na+ component was selected as a tracer and further SAR (Sodium Adsorption Ratio) of soil was analyzed to examine the degree of influence on vegetation indirectly. The gauze concentration was evaluated by the concentration of the deicer ingredient at the background concentration of the blank gauze. The total amount of the deicer sprayed in the study road for 4 months (winter season) was about 93 ton/km. In the gauze test, the spread of the deicer was detected at a distance of 100 m in study area, but the concentration of the deicer in the gauze by distance decreased rapidly within 10 m from the highway. And concentration of the deicer components in gauze and soil came down after rainy season (August ~ Sep.). The results showed that the components of the deicer could be spread widely by the wind. The effective range of the deicer on vegetation based on SAR in soil was estimated to be less than 20 m from the highway. This study examines the concentration changes of the deicer components in gauze and soils and shows that deicer components sprayed on the highway are accumulated and moved over time by wind, snow removal, terrain, water system and land use around the highway.

Domestic continuously reinforced concrete pavement has been built on a large scale on the Jungbu Expressway, which opened in 1987. Since then, there have been few application due to cost and construction difficulty. Currently, most of the expressway concrete pavements have been applied with jointed plain concrete pavement, but the interest in continuously reinforced concrete pavement has been increasing recently due to frequent premature failure in joints of JPCP. Accordingly, Korea Expressway Corporation has established design guidelines and details for continuously reinforced concrete pavements for expressway in 2014, based on the design method applied to the Jungbu Expressway, but incorporating foreign useful design methods. In terms of construction, pilot constructions were performed on Pyeongtaek~Jecheon Expressway Construction. The new design guidelines were applied to some sections of the Sangju~Yeongdeok Expressway Construction Project in 2016. This study conducted a survey and analysis of transverse cracks for one year after continuously reinforced concrete pavement construction in Sangju~Yeongdeok Expressway. This route was constructed with pavement thickness, base layer and longitudinal reinforcement according to domestic design guidelines. However, the transverse reinforcement was arranged differently according to the section. After construction, the transverse crack spacing was surveyed and the crack gauges were installed at the crack position to measure the movement. This compares the crack spacing according to the characteristics of longitudinal reinforcement and observes continuous movement of the crack width. The results showed that the crack spacing was more affected by the climate at the time of construction than the arrangement method of the transverse reinforcement. The crack width showed periodic changes according to the temperature change over 24 hours. However, due to seasonal changes, it showed a tendency of gradual increasing or decreasing in crack widths, and it was predicted that different measurement results will be shown depending on the time of crack width measurement. Generally, it is predicted that the crack spacing will be narrowed and the crack movement will tend to converge with the period after construction. This initial crack movement data is expected to be useful for comparing whether these predictions are valid.

In recent years, there have been applied methods for minimizing noise by adjusting the method of installing soundproof walls, soundproof tunnels, soundproofing rims, environmental facilities, etc., and the shape of the surface texture of tire treads and packaging materials for the purpose of reducing road noise. Low noise pavement methods such as rubber asphalt (CRM), open graded asphalt concrete (OGAC), permeable Friction Courses (PFC), open graded friction courses (OGFC) and porous asphalt have been applied to reduce road noise. Especially, porous pavement is the most widely used low noise pavement with porous structure, which can reduce noise and drain water through continuous void of pavement. On the other hand, porous asphalt pavement has problems such as reduction of noise reduction effect and difficulty of road surface management due to void closing and increase of construction cost. The purpose of this study is to develop ultra-thin layer hot mix asphalt pavement method which maximizes road noise reduction effect by surface micro voids (Recover asphalt pavement) to improve void clogging of present porous pavement method. For this study, maximum size 5mm aggregate and cationic-treated fiber reinforced asphalt modifier (CSM) were used. The Marshall design method was applied grain-size distribution curve was based on SMA mix design. Marshall test, TSR, MMLS3 test and Hamburg test were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of ultra -thin layered asphalt pavement method with surface micro voids. Also, the effect of road noise reduction was evaluated through field application in urban area.

Edible biopolymer films were developed from the exopolysaccharides (EPS) extracted from Weissella confusa 113-2. The optimum composition for film formation was determined using the response surface analysis with the explanatory variables of the EPS (0.5-5.5%) and glycerol (0.5-5.5%) concentrations and the response variable of film elastic modulus (EM). The mass ratio of distilled water to solids was set constant (14:1). Tensile strength (TS), percentage elongation at break (%E), EM, water vapor permeability (WVP) of EPS films were evaluated. The glass transition temperatures of the films were also determined by a dynamic mechanical analysis. The optimum mass ratio of EPS to glycerol was 0.754:0.375. The WVP, TS, %E, and EM of the film under the optimal composition were 3.53±0.21 g·mm/kPa·h·m2, 7.03±0.49 MPa, 84.82±12.31%, and 62.03±6.93 MPa, respectively. The glass transition temperature varied from 54 to 83 °C. The EPS film has the potential to be applied to food products as an edible film with physical and barrier properties comparable to other biopolymer edible films.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique has recently been applied in agriculture and food science. It has potential to visualize internal structure of foods in nondestructive way and provides spatial information which could make reconstruct of three-dimension. MRI system also has great advantage for tracking water in beans or seeds. This study intends to analyze the changes of water distribution of coffee beans during water up-taking process. Samples used in the experiment were ‘Robusta’ coffee beans (Vietnam G1, Scr18 polish). A 30mm diameter plastic disposable test tube was used to hold bean during water up-take process. The oil column was placed next to the tube to get and to use as a reference signal. The magnetic resonance imaging system which installed at Institution for Agricultural Machinery & ICT Convergence in Chonbuk National University was used to obtain magnetic resonance (MR) image data sets. 30 images are included in each image data sets with ‘Axial’ image plane direction. In experiment, we used ‘Gradient Echo 3D’ pulse sequence. The water uptake process was performed for 150 minutes and acquired image data sets in every 10 minutes. This study showed some coffee beans which extracted as region of interest (ROI) from each images to study the water uptake process.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most important mycotoxins owing to its widespread occurrence and toxicity including nephrotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity to humans. Since OTA is stable under most food processing conditions, OTA has been detected not only in a wide range of agricultural commodities such as cereal grains but also their processed products. Nonetheless, it is known that significant reduction of OTA may be achieved under higher temperature and alkaline conditions. In this study, the effects of retorting cooking process on the stability of OTA in spiked (20 μg/kg of dry weight basis) rice and oat porridge (10% solid content; w/v) in the presence and absence of baking soda was investigated using a laboratory horizontal steam retort system. The samples were heated in a pot at 85°C central temperature until it becomes gelatinized, packed in retort pouched, and heat-processed in pressurized retort machine (at 121°C for 25 min) followed by drying in 50°C oven overnight. Samples were analyzed for OTA by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD). The reduction of OTA in retorted rice and oat porridge were 54% and 17%, respectively, while greater reduction of OTA was observed at increased amount of baking soda. The reduction of OTA in retorted rice porridge with 0.5% and 1% baking soda were 55% and 66%, respectively. In the retorted oat porridge, reduction of OTA was also evident to result in 30% and 48% with 0.5% and 1.0% of added baking soda, respectively. These results suggest that OTA in rice and oat may be reduced significantly by retorting process. In addition, added baking soda may positively impact the reduction of OTA.

본 연구에서는 김치 제조시 철저한 재료 세척의 필요성을 확인하고, 더불어 비가열 식품인 김치의 위생 안전성 실태를 파악하여 효율적 미생물 저감화 방안을 마련하고자 국내에서 유통되는 김치 원·부재료 200건의 세척 전과 후의 비교분석과 시판 김치 100건에 대하여 미생물 분석을 실시하였다. 김치 원·부재료 및 완제품에 대하여 일반 세균수, 대장균 및 대장균군을 모니터링 하였으며, 병원성 미생물 9종(Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens 정성·정 량, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes 정성)을 분석 하였다. 모니터링 결과, 김치 원· 부재료 및 완제품에서 일반세균은 1.4~9.0 log CFU/g 수준 으로 확인되었으며, 원·부재료 중 생강에서 8.8 log CFU/g, 완제품 중 총각김치에서 9.0 log CFU/g으로 일반세균이 가장 높게 나타났다. 대장균군은 0.5~7.3 log CFU/g으로 확 인되었으며, 생강에서 7.3 log CFU/g으로 가장 높게 나타 났고, 병원성 미생물 9종의 분석결과, Bacillus cereus를 제 외한 나머지 8종의 식중독균은 모든 시료에서 검출되지 않았다. 김치 제조 시 사용되는 김치 원·부재료들의 세척 공정 후 미생물 수는 일반세균수 0.2~3.2 log CFU/g, 대장 균군 0.3~2.7 log CFU/g, Bacillus cereus 1.0~3.9 log CFU/g 감소하였다. 따라서, 김치 원·부재료의 세척 공정으로 미생물 오염도를 감소 시켰으며, 이 결과를 통하여 김치 완 제품의 위생 및 저장성 증진에 기여 할 수 있을 것으로 확인되었다.

Currently, phylogenetic relationships of Bombycoidea have been reconstructed using molecular data, but generated several hypotheses on among-familial relationships [(especially, “Satruniidae+Bombycidae+Sphingidae” group)] within Bombycoidea. Thus, in this study, we sequenced 39 mitogenomes from both Bombycoidea and Lasiocampoidea. Consequently, one topology was obtained on the basis of ML and BI methods. It suggested the monophyly of the two superfamilies (Bombycoidea and Lasiocampoidea) consistently with a high nodal support; the sister relationship between Saturniidae and Sphingidae in “SBS”; and the sister relationships between Bombycidae and the Saturniidae + Sphingidae group.

RNA interference (RNAi) has been considered as an alternative strategy to control agricultural pest whereby double-stranded RNA triggers a potent and specific inhibition of its homologous mRNA. Since small dsRNAs are required for various RNAi applications, there is a need for cost-effective methods for producing large quantities of high-quality dsRNA. In this study, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) based dsRNA production platform was established under control of sporulation-dependent promoter and vp1 gene of Sacbrood virus (SBV) was introduced. The dsRNA against vp1 gene produced from the Bt suppressed the replication of SBV. In addition, the dsRNA was assembled into inulin coated-nanoparticle to increase stability of dsRNA in environment.

The effects of cold storage temperature and exposure duration on immature stages of spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on ‘Campbell Early’ grapes were examined to establish a phytosanitary control method. The immature stages (eggs, larvae and pupae) of SWD were all dead after a 6-day cold treatment at 1°C and 8-day cold treatment at 1.5 and 2°C. Small-scale tests using pupae, which were the most-cold tolerant stage, confirmed the validity of the selected temperature and exposure durations. Conversely, the 8- and 10-day at 1°C treatments showed 100% mortality, suggesting that these treatments can guarantee quarantine security against infestations of SWD on exported ‘Campbell Early’ grapes.

Major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), important protein components of bee royal jelly (RJ) and exclusive nourishments for queen, exhibit various biological and pharmacological activities. RJ is one of the most studied bee products, but the crucial roles for MRJP2 as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agents remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrated the antimicrobial and antioxidant functions of the Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerna) MRJP2 (AcMRJP2). Recombinant AcMRJP2 of approximately 53 kDa was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells, and it exhibited antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and yeast via binding to microbial surfaces and inducing structural damage in microbial cell walls. AcMRJP2 protected mammalian and insect cells against oxidative damage through shielding of cell membranes. Interestingly, AcMRJP2 exhibited DNA protection activity and DPPH radical-scavenging activity. Altogether, our data demonstrated that AcMRJP2 functions as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.

In this study, we developed 12 microsatellite markers specific to N. pygmaea using Illumina paired-end sequencing. Forty individuals of N. pygmaea collected from three currently known localities in South Korea were genotyped to validate these markers and to preliminarily assess population genetic characteristics. No locus showed significant deviation from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Our preliminary data indicate an absence of inbreeding in all populations and an absence of obvious genetic difference. The microsatellite markers developed in this study will be useful for studying the population genetics of N. pygmaea collected from other regions, including additional sites in South Korea.

The subfamily Nitidulinae in Korea is reviewed with a pictorial key to species. In total, 30 species of 18 genera are recognized including three newly recorded genera, each with one species respectively: Nitidula rufipes (Linnaeus, 1767), Stelidota multiguttata Reitter, 1877 and Hebasculinus japonus (Reitter, 1877). Pictorial key to tribes, genera and species with illustrations of habitus are provided.

Family Nitidulidae is the second largest family in Cucujoidea which includes ten subfamilies. Because of their morphological and biological diversity, the phylogenetic relationship within Nitidulidae is one of the most debated topics among Cucujoidea phylogeny and yet, is still open to many questions. To recover the internal relationship of Nitidulidae, we performed ML and BI analyses that targeted on five gene regions (COI, 28s, CAD, H3, Wingless) for 73 taxa. We include 67 ingroups containing nine of the ten currently recognized subfamilies of Nitidulidae and 6 outgroups. The phylogenetic results suggest followings i) Subfamilial status of Prometopinae is reconfirmed; ii) Epuraeinae is paraphyletic with inclusion of Calonecrinae; iii) Nitidulinae is paraphyletic with inclusion of Meligethinae and Cillaeinae. In addition, the generic relationships within Nitidulinae and the evolutionary history of their feeding behaviors are also briefly discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of heel off stairway walking exercise on the increase of muscle activity and balance activity of the ankle joint muscles in university students with functional ankle instability. The conservative treatment for the control group consisted of stairway walking (n=10) and the experimental group consisted of heel off stairway walking (n=11). The therapeutic intervention of the control and experimental groups was performed a total of 12 exercise sessions, 3 times per week for 4 weeks. To compare the two groups, the level of ankle disability was assessed by using the EMG, BT4 and Pedoscan in pre-treatment and post-treatment. Muscle activity increased in both the experimental groups and control groups in each group, however there was no significant difference between the groups. Balance ability did not show any significant difference. This study demonstrates that heel-off stairway walking is effective in significantly increasing muscle activity, however did not significantly improve balance ability.