Cryptotympana atrata belongs to the family Cicadidae, has long been recognized as a damaging plant-sucking pest, and is distributed in East Asian countries. In addition, their cries cause direct harm to us through noise pollution and also reported twig damage in the forest environments. In this study, we isolated strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium that occurred from C. atrata collected this year. Here, we provide the morphological character and molecular phylogenetic relationship of this species. This is the first record of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium viridulum isolated from C. atrata in Korea and provides a candidate strain with potential use for biological agents.

This study was aimed to isolate bacterial inoculants producing chitinase and evaluate their application effects on corn silage. Four corn silages were collected from four beef cattle farms to serve as the sources of bacterial inoculants. All isolates were tested against Fusarium graminearum head blight fungus MHGNU F132 to confirm their antifungal effects. The enzyme activities (carboxylesterase and chitinase) were also measured to isolate the bacterial inoculant. Based on the activities of anti-head blight fungus, carboxylesterase, and chitinase, L. buchneri L11-1 and L. paracasei L9-3 were subjected to silage production. Corn forage (cv. Gwangpyeongok) was ensiled into a 10 L mini silo (5 kg) in quadruplication for 90 days. A 2 × 2 factorial design consists of F. graminearum contamination at 1.0104 cfu/g (UCT (no contamination) vs. CT (contamination)) and inoculant application at 2.1 × 105 cfu/g (CON (no inoculant) vs. INO (inoculant)) used in this study. After 90 days of ensiling, the contents of CP, NDF, and ADF increased (p<0.05) by F. graminearum contamination, while IVDMD, acetate, and aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05). Meanwhile, aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05) by inoculant application. There were interaction effects (p<0.05) on IVNDFD, NH3-N, LAB, and yeast, which were highest in UCT-INO, UCT-CON, CT-INO, and CT-CON & INO, respectively. In conclusion, this study found that mold contamination could negatively impact silage quality, but isolated inoculants had limited effects on IVNDFD and yeast.

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (ML) is a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma involving MALT, commonly the stomach or salivary glands, although virtually any mucosal site can be affected. ML originates from B cells in the marginal zone of MALT, and is also called extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma. It is a slow-growing cancer that usually responds well to treatment. A 59-year-old female presented with a 1-day history of quadriparesis and dysarthria. Up arrival at the hospital, motor power in the right upper and lower extremities was grade 3/5 according to the Medical Research Council scale, while that in the left leg was 4/5. The patient had been diagnosed with gastric ML 1 year prior, and had received antibiotics during the previous 2 weeks. The emergency magnetic resonance imaging of the brain performed at the time of presentation showed multifocal embolic infarction in the cerebral hemisphere bilaterally, which did not have a cardiac origin. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed no stenotic or occlusive lesions. Secondary prophylaxis with daily administration of 300 mg aspirin was prescribed. The patient was discharged with residual right hemiparesis 2 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Herein, we present a rare case of multifocal cerebral infarction in a gastric ML patient.

With the rise of social media platforms, influencer marketing has become an essential tool for marketers to promote their products and services. Value co-creation behavior of influencers involves collaborating with their followers and brands to create content that provides value to their audience. This approach can help to build stronger relationships with followers and drive engagement and sales for the brands they work with.

An aeroponic seed potato production technology project has been established in Pakistan through the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) between RDA-KOPIA and PARC. For sustainable potato production, producing high-quality and disease-free potato seeds is critical in Pakistan. The majority of the farmers recycle their own seeds or obtain them through informal ways. Consequently, tuber-borne illnesses proliferate, seeds deteriorate, and yield diminishes. To mitigate such problems, the country moved to sustainable seed potato production by adopting rapid seed multiplication strategies like the combination of tissue culturing with aeroponic seed production technology which is being evaluated as an alternative to traditional pre-basic seed production methods. A series of experiments were carried out to evaluate the shoot development and mini tuber production attributes between two cultivars, different plantlet size and planting period between October 27, 2021, and January 27, 2022, at the NARC aeroponic facility. A CRD design with three replications was used. The study aimed to compare the productivity by variety, plantlet size and planting period to improve aeroponic seed production technology in Pakistan. The results indicated that Lady Rosetta outperformed Asterix in terms of shoot growth and small tuber output. Early planting at an optimal temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the daytime showed a substantial difference when compared to late planting in November and tuberization was commenced 50-55 days after transplantation. Furthermore, in an aeroponic seed potato production system, normal plantlets (8-10 cm) at the time of transplantation, performed better than medium and small plantlets. In a nutshell, it was determined that normal size plantlets (8-10 cm) of Lady Rosetta cultivar, planted at optimum time to plant showed best results in the aeroponic system at NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Laser cutting has been recognized as one of key techniques in dismantling nuclear power plants as it has several advantages such as a remote operation and a reduced secondary waste. However, it generates a significant amount of aerosols that can pose a health risk to workers and further induce environmental pollution during the cutting operation. Thus, understanding the aerosol characteristics generated by the laser cutting is crucial for implementing an effective cutting operation and reducing the exposure to these hazardous particles. In this work, we established a methodology to collect the aerosols and investigate their properties in the laser cutting operation. We built an integrated laser cutting system for aerosol analyses, consisting of a high-power laser cutting module, a metal sample holder, an aerosol collector, and a closed chamber. We expect that this system will offer an opportunity for in-depth understanding of the aerosol properties, by connecting it with desired type of aerosol analysis platforms, and further safe dismantling operation of the nuclear power plants.

After Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, Concerns about accident of spent fuel pool increase. In Korea, the time of saturation of spent fuel pool is coming, but regulatory measures and safety evaluation are insufficient when occurring spent fuel pool accident. Thus, it is necessary to review of spent fuel pool accident in foreign countries to establish regulatory measures and safety evaluation of spent fuel pool accident suitable for domestic spent fuel pool. Therefore, we reviewed spent fuel pool accident that occurred at Fukushima Unit 4, SONGS Unit 2 and PAKS. In Japan, spent fuel pool accident occurred at Fukushima NPP in 2011. Tsunami was cause of the accident. Station Black Out occurred at Fukushima NPP and Emergency Diesel Generator lost their functions due to Tsunami. As a result, Loss of cooling happened in spent fuel pool at Fukushima NPP. For Unit 4, wall of spent fuel pool in Unit 4 was damaged due to hydrogen explosive, so loss of coolant in spent fuel pool of Unit 4 occurred. After the accident, the temperature of spent fuel pool increases to 75°C, but there was no damage to the spent fuel. In USA, spent fuel pool accident occurred at SONGS Unit 2 in 2013. The debris of nearby ocean is cause of the accident. The debris entered the system through a damaged Salt Water Cooling pump suction strainer. The debris obstructed flow through the Component Cooling Water heat exchanger and operation of Salt Water Cooling. The maximum spent fuel pool temperature during this event was 25.6°C. It was a value that satisfied the technical specifications of the SONGS NPP. In Ukraine, spent fuel pool accident occurred at PAKS in 2003. Unintentionally opened valve of cleaning tank is cause of the accident. Loss of coolant occurred in spent fuel pool of PAKS. Due to loss of coolant, spent fuels were exposed to the vapor state atmosphere, and oxidation occurred in the cladding tube of the spent fuel that rose to 1,400°C. In this study, Review of spent fuel pool accident in major foreign countries was conducted as basic studies for establishing regulatory measures and safety evaluation of spent fuel pool in Korea. Causes of each accident were different by structure of spent fuel pools. Result of this study will be contributed to establish safety measures of spent fuel pool accident suitable for domestic spent fuel pool facility.