This study examined whether the perceptions of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and individual and environmental factors related to healthy eating changed after the COVID-19 pandemic among adults living in Daqing, China. Data were collected through two rounds of online surveys conducted from April to May 2021 and from March to April 2023, using a questionnaire previously validated for use in Daqing. Using the snowball sampling method, 571 adult participants were recruited, most of whom were Daqing oilfield workers or members of their families. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine if the differences in the perceptions of the TPB and dietary environments exist during and after the pandemic after controlling for potential confounders. Scores of several subcomponents of TPB and mean scores of longterm intentions increased but scores of subcomponents and overall mean of motivation decreased after the outbreak. Multiple linear regression showed that only motivation for healthy eating decreased after the pandemic. Influenced by the pandemic, people increased their healthy eating behaviors. Nevertheless, as the pandemic subsided and the pace of life accelerated, people tended to choose convenient foods over healthy options. Consequently, the motivation for healthy eating has declined post-pandemic compared to during the pandemic.

Stoneflies (Plecoptera) are known for being sensitive to water pollution and are used as bioindicators for evaluating water quality. Among them, Nemouridae, especially the genus Nemoura, which are commonly referred to as winter stoneflies, can be found around streams even during the cold winter months. Nemoura geei Wu, 1929, among them, was originally described from Beijing and is widely distributed in Korea, China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. Here, we report the development and characterization of new functional microsatellite markers of N. geei using high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 80,661 microsatellite loci were identified with a total length of 1,801,591 bp. The average length was 22.34 bp, and microsatellites occupied 0.42% of the entire sequence. The novel 20 microsatellite markers developed in this study can be usefully applied to the population genetics analyses as important genetic resources for understanding the ecological and evolutionary characteristics of a stonefly species at the population level in Korea.

Athalia japonica (Klug, 1815) is a significant insect pest of turnips in Korea. The complete mitochondrial genome of this species isolated in Korea is reported in this study, which is the first attempt to study Korean Athalia species. The circular genome is 15,662 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and an A+T-rich region. Consistent with most members of the genus Athalia, five of the tRNA genes are rearranged from the typical ground pattern of ancestral insect gene order. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from the nucleotide sequences of 25 mitochondrial genomes indicate that the Korean A. japonica is a distinct member of the genus Athalia. This study accumulates mitochondrial genome data of A. japonica from various countries, providing useful information on mitochondrial genetic differences across geographical distances in the East Asian region.

The North Korean sawflies housed in the Hymenoptera Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum are studied, with a focus on the subfamilies Athaliinae and Allantinae. Five genera and ten species of the two subfamilies are identified. Athalia indiana Benson is reported for the first time from East Asia (North Korea), and further eight species and one subspecies are discovered in the new country of North Korea: Allantus helanshanicus Wei, Li and Xiao, Apethymus kolthoffi (Forsius), A. sidorenkoi Sundukov, Athalia japonica (Klug), A. proxima (Klug), A. rosae ruficornis Jakowlew, Beleses satonis (Takeuchi), Taxonus carbonarius Takeuchi, and T. montanus Togashi. Additionally, Athalia infumata (Marlatt) syn. nov. is considered a junior subjective synonym of A. proxima (Klug). Diagnoses and photographs of the newly recorded species are provided, as well as new distributional records and brief notes on the new synonymy.

Nialoe Tanaka, 1958 is a subgenus of the ground beetle genus Pterostichus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), endemic to East Asia. In a wide sense of Nialoe, it consists of more than 200 species, which has reduced hindwing and possibly diversified by geographical isolation due to poor dispersal ability. To understand this vast group, phylogenetic studies have been conducted, showing that Nialoe s. lat. comprises of five subgenera: Nialoe s. str., Sphodroferonia, Koreonialoe, and two unnamed subgenera. However, there is little knowledge regarding their origin and dispersal. In this study, we examine phylogenetic relationships among the five subgenera of Nialoe s. lat. based on 28S rRNA, wingless, COI, and 16S rRNA. The molecular clock and S-DIVA analyses are devised to investigate the biogeographical history of the group in East Asia. This study may give insight into the biogeographical dispersal and diversification of East Asian carabids.

Background: Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a prominent technology that can preserve superior genetic traits of animals and expand the population in a short time. Hematological characters and endocrine profiles are important elements that demonstrate the stability of the physiological state of cloned animals. To date, several studies regarding cloned camels with superior genes have been conducted. However, detailed hemato-physiological assessments to prove that cloned camels are physiologically normal are limited. In this study, We evaluated the hemato-physiological characteristics of cloned male and female dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries). Methods: Therefore, we analyzed variations in hematological characteristics and endocrine profiles between cloned and non-cloned age-matched male and female dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries ). Two groups each of male and female cloned and non-cloned camels were monitored to investigate the differences in hemato-physiological characteristics. Results: All the animals were evaluated by performing complete blood count (CBC), serum chemistry, and endocrinological tests. We found no significant difference between the cloned and non-cloned camels. Furthermore, the blood chemistry and endocrine profiles in male and female camels before maturity were similar. Conclusions: These results suggest that cloned and non-cloned camels have similar hematological characteristics and endocrine parameters.

The system of rice intensification (SRI) has been proposed as a way of transitioning towards more sustainable rice farming. In rainfed rice farming, however, various environmental constraints often make SRI practices challenging to adopt. We conducted an on-farm experiment in 30 rainfed lowland fields to examine the technical efficacy of SRI in southern Cambodia during the wet seasons of over three years of 2012, 2013, and 2015. Across the three years, the SRI practices produced significantly greater plant biomass and grain yield than non-SRI. We ascribed the yield increase to the increased number of grains per land area as the increased number of spikelets per panicle rather than the number of panicles per land area. With no significant difference in seedling age between the SRI and the non-SRI, we attributed the more substantial number of grains per panicle to the reduced planting density, increased manure application, and reduced amount of inorganic fertilizers in SRI fields. Our results suggest that the advantage of the SRI lies in the efficient use of internally available soil nutrients, whose mechanisms need quantitative understanding through future studies.

This study analyzed the impact of Higher-order resources on profit sustainability for domestic companies using a mathematical statistical model. Higher-order resources refer to resources that do not directly affect profits but influence other resources that directly contribute to profits. As a result of analysis using 30 years of actual data from more than 650 domestic companies, the average duration of competitive advantage including high-order resources was found to be about twice as long as the period suggested by the autoregressive model excluding high-order resources. Through this, if companies want to earn more profits over a long period of time than their competitors, they must not only possess resources that are more valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and non-substitutable compared to their competitors, but also that higher-order resources can contribute to changes in these resources over time. It was confirmed that it must lead the long-term profit difference. High-level resources include strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) capabilities, and good forecasting.

Background: Canine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an attractive source for veterinary regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug development. Here we used vitamin C (Vc) to improve the reprogramming efficiency of canine iPSCs, and its functions in the reprogramming process were elucidated. Methods: Retroviral transduction of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc (OSKM), and GFP was employed to induce reprogramming in canine fetal fibroblasts. Following transduction, the culture medium was subsequently replaced with ESC medium containing Vc to determine the effect on reprogramming activity. Results: The number of AP-positive iPSC colonies dramatically increased in culture conditions supplemented with Vc. Vc enhanced the efficacy of retrovirus transduction, which appears to be correlated with enhanced cell proliferation capacity. To confirm the characteristics of the Vc-treated iPSCs, the cells were cultured to passage 5, and pluripotency markers including Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Tra-1-60 were observed by immunocytochemistry. The expression of endogenous pluripotent genes (Oct4, Nanog, Rex1, and telomerase) were also verified by PCR. The complete silencing of exogenously transduced human OSKM factors was observed exclusively in canine iPSCs treated with Vc. Canine iPSCs treated with Vc are capable of forming embryoid bodies in vitro and have spontaneously differentiated into three germ layers. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize a straightforward method for enhancing the efficiency of canine iPSC generation and provide insight into the Vc effect on the reprogramming process.

Efficiently detecting the nearest navigational dangers in Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) remains pivotal for maritime safety. However, the software implementation of ADMAR(Automatic Distance measurement and Ranging) functionality faced challenges, necessitating extensive computations across ENC cells and impacting real-time performance. To address this, we present a novel method employing dynamic programming. Our proposed algorithm strategically organizes nodes into a tree structure, optimizing the search process towards nodes likely to contain navigational hazards. Implementation of this method resulted in a notable sevenfold reduction in computation time compared to the conventional Brute Force approach. Our study established a direct correlation between the ADMAR functionality and node count, achieving error margins deemed acceptable for practical navigation scenarios. Despite this theoretical progress, minor errors in results prompt further refinement. Consequently, future iterations will explore varying values for N, considering hierarchy and cell sizes to enhance algorithmic precision. This research signifies a potential advancement in optimizing navigational danger detection within ECDIS, offering a promising avenue for improved efficiency. By introducing a dynamic programming-based approach, we have streamlined the detection process while acknowledging the scope for algorithmic refinement in subsequent studies. Our findings underline the feasibility of employing dynamic programming to enhance navigational danger detection, emphasizing its potential in ensuring maritime safety. This work lays a foundation for future research endeavors, aiming to fine-tune algorithms and advance navigational safety measures in ECDIS.

A new annual dose evaluation system called E-DOSE has been developed. The system is based on the methodology of the previous version, K-DOSE60, which uses the dose evaluation methods of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP-60). However, E-DOSE is coded in ABAP to be compatible with the KHNP’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, SAP. This allows E-DOSE to use the real-time data from SAP, which minimizes the need for user intervention. The socio-environmental data, which was previously managed by the staff of each plant sites, can now managed in the system in a centralized manner. This is a significant improvement over the previous system, as it reduces the risk of errors and makes it easier to track and manage data. The system also automatically generates the reports required by regulations. EDOSE is expected to minimize the occurrence of human errors in preparing and managing the input data. This is because the system uses the data from SAP, which is less prone to errors than manually entered data. Additionally, the automatic generation of reports reduces the risk of errors in report preparation. E-DOSE is also expected to improve work efficiency. This is because the system automates many of the tasks involved in annual dose evaluation, such as data entry, calculation, and report generation. Overall, E-DOSE is a significant improvement over the previous annual dose evaluation system. It is more efficient, accurate, and user-friendly.