The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae is one of potent biological control agents against a variety ofinsect pests. In this study, we investigated enzyme production of M. anisopliae strains A and B. They produced extracellularenzymes for degrading the epidermis of Monochamus alternatus, a crucial mediator of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchusxylophilus. With Q-TOF MS/MS analysis, 29 kDa protein, a major band on a SDS-PAGE gel, was identified as subtilisin-likeserine protease PR1A. M. anisopliae A produced an extracellular enzyme more efficiently than M. anisopliae B: however,enzyme activities targeted for the cuticle were comparable. Our results suggest that the two strains of M. anisopliae havethe biological potential against M. alternatus with insecticidal protease production.

The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae B is a powerful biological control agent against Monochamusalternatus, a crucial mediator of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. In this study, production of destruxins(dtxs), insecticidal cyclic hexadepsipeptides, was monitored in the submerged culture of M. anisopliae B. Three typesof dtxs, i.e., destruxin A, B, and E, were produced during the culture. Among the three dtxs, the production yield ofdestruxin A was best, followed by destruxin B and E. Destruxin A production was increased when pH was controlledat 6.0, whereas production of destruxin E was not affected by the pH control. The highest yield of dtxs A, B, and Ewere 16.4, 7.3, and 6.1 mg L-1, respectively. Considering that process for dtxs production has not been optimized, M.anisopliae B has more powerful implication as a biocontrol agent.

Ethyl formate (EF) and methyl salicylate (MS) are naturally occurring and generally safe substances for use. Sub-lethaldoses of EF and MS were evaluated to find synergistic fumigation action against azuki bean beetle (ABB), Callosobruchuschinensis (L.). Susceptibility of the ABB to EF was in the order of eggs =adults >larvae >pupae. Adults was most sensitiveto MS, and followed by eggs. Larvae and pupae were highly tolerant to MS. However, in synergistic effects of EF andMS showed that all the stages of ABB were highly sensitive in the order of adults >eggs >larvae >pupae. Highest synergisticratio was found against adults when using LC10 of both EF and MS as compared to other stages. Notably, MS synergizedthe EF exposure to all stages of ABB. This finding paves the way to exploiting synergistic activity of MS and EF againstABB for the safeguard of stored azuki bean grains.

Naringenin and its glycoside naringin (naringenin-7-O-glycoside) belong to this series of flavonoids and were well-known strong antioxidant activity. This study was conducted to flavonoid constituents and antioxidant activity of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus cornucopiae. In order to determine active ingredient contents of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus cornucopiae, we were carried out total polyphenolic content (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) analyses. As a result, TPC (31.05 ± 0.03 g GAE/kg extract) and TFC (13.25 ± 1.24 g NE/kg extract) of Pleurotus cornucopiae were found significantly higher as compared to Pleurotus ostreatus. The IC50 values based on the DPPH (56.50 ± 0.73 μg/ml) and ABTS (86.53 ± 3.86 μg/ml) for Pleurotus cornucopiae were generally stronger showing potential antioxidant properties compared to Pleurotus ostreatus. In addition, naringin and naringenin content were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. A great amount of naringin and naringenin was found in Pleurotus cornucopiae. These results indicate that the Pleurotus cornucopiae can be used as an antioxidant therapeutic agent.

Polyurethane (PU) nanofibers containing graphene oxide (GO) and Ag doped functionalized reduced graphene oxide (Ag-RGO) were successfully prepared via the electrospinning technique. The uniform distribution of GO sheets along with Ag nanoparticle in the nanofibers was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the elemental mapping technique. X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetric analysis verified the presence of GO and Ag in the bicomposite nanofibrous mats. Antibacterial tests against Escherichia coli demonstrated that the addition of GO and Ag-RGO to the PU nanofiber greatly enhanced bactericidal efficiency. Overall, these features of the synthesized nanofibers make them a promising candidate material in the biomedical field for applications such as tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery systems.

The purpose of this study is to keep the safety of the car ferry passengers and vessels by investigating and analyzing vessel safety management systems in Korea and China. To this end, we investigated Korea-China car ferries and the current status and causes of global marine accidents corresponding to the sizes of the vessels from Korea and China. Furthermore, we investigated car ferries’ crew management and safety management. As a result of the analysis of the ferry accident, the causes of human error and ship’s age were the greatest, but the ship’s companies showed a negative stance regarding the age restriction. It seems that it is necessary to utilize the near-miss accident reporting system and differentiate the management of ship’s aging. Also, it was analyzed that both the ship company and the crew of the ship need to strengthen their awareness of safety management.

An intensive analysis was conducted of the maternal lineages of the Jeju native pigs (JNPs). A total of 100 mtDNA sequences from Asian wild boars (AWB), European wild boars (EWB), Asian domestic pigs (ADP), European domestic pigs (EDP), and JNPs were used for the phylogeny and network analyses. Two distinct JNP groups were found JNPA and JNPE in the Asian and European cluster. The maternal lineage of JNPE was the closest to that of EWB and a clear haplogroup sharing an identical haplotype (hap16) among 15 individuals of JNPE and 2 individuals of EWB was identified. However, except for hap18, no EDP shared any identical haplotypes with JNPE, suggesting that no obvious maternal contribution of EDP has occurred in JNPE in recent years. The possible existence of an additional and unknown path of maternal lineage from EDP into JNPE could therefore be postulated, in addition to those from AWB and ADP into the JNPA groups. Thus, JNPE appeared to have a pure maternal lineage that had no recent contact with EDP, and both the JNPA groups and JNPE are pure Jeju native pigs.

Several studies on the correlation between temperament and genetic diversity are conducted in animals as well as human. Horse temperament is especially important because it is important factor for horse riding and racing. In this study, we performed targeted exome sequencing to find single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) served as genetic markers that can evaluate the aggressive and docile levels of horses. We selected 71 candidate genes related to animal and human temperament through previous researches and verified it on the human reference genome (hg38) and horse reference genome (equCab2). We found that 16 orthologous genes were present in horse reference genome and 17 homologous genes found in horses based on the human reference genome. Finally, we designed probes to find the genetic variation in selected 33 genes. The sequencing libraries were constructed using the designed probe and DNA samples extracted from the blood of 8 aggressive and 8 docile horses. The constructed libraries were sequenced using the Illumina Hiseq2500 platform. SNPs data obtained from targeted exome sequencing will be used for genome wide association study (GWAS) and Sanger sequencing validation. This study will help to assess the horse temperament and to select superior horses for riding or racing.