We have analyzed the transcriptome of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans using RNA sequencing and identified severalantimicrobial peptide candidates. Among the peptides, named scolopendrasins, were selected based on the physicochemicalproperties of antimicrobial peptides via an in silico analysis. As a result, we evaluated the antimicrobial activities ofscolopendrasins against Gram positive and negative bacteria including Candida albicans by radial diffusion assay and colonycount assay. We also investigated the cytotoxicity of scolopendrasins through hemolysis assay. We found that the actionof scolopendrasins involved binding to the surface of microorganisms via a specific interaction with lipopolysaccharides,lipoteichoic acid, and peptidoglycans, which are components of the bacterial membrane. These results will provide a basisfor developing therapeutic agents such as peptide antibiotics.

Bethylus Latreille, a type genus of the family Bethylidae, is represented by about 32 species and is recorded fromthe Palaearctic and the Nearctic regions. In East Asia, the genus has been reported from Far Eastern Russia, China andJapan. The genus was well-known as ectoparasitoid of micro-lepidopteran insects including gelechiids, coleophorids.As results of taxonomic study on Korean Bethylinae, the distribution of Bethylus is newly confirmed in South Koreaand the species was identified as B. fuscicornis (Jurine, 1807). We provide the description, diagnostic illustrations of B.fuscicornis and a key to Korean genus of Bethylinae.

In order to produce mushroom compost in low-cost and high-efficiency, a self-propelled turner was developed and compared with the uniformity of compost produced by excavator, compost mixer, and self-propelled turner. The material of the compost was mixed with rice straw and chicken manure at a ratio of 3:1 as dry weight. After the final turning, the internal temperature distribution, the water content of the compost pile, the ash ratio and uniformity of the compost pile were examined. After compost was completed, the water contents were 69.9 ± 0.54, 72.1 ± 0.15 and 74.5 ± 0.82%, respectively. The length of rice straw was 47.5 ± 15.4 cm, 24.9 ± 10.1 cm and 31.0 ± 10.6 cm, respectively. The ash content of the dry weight of each compost were 25.0 ± 6.2%, 33.6 ± 4.2% and 28.2 ± 1.1%, respectively. The deviation of the length of rice straw was affected by the linear velocity of the spinner in the compost mixer and the self-propelled turner, which were 9 m/sec for the self-propelled turner and 21.5 m/sec for the compost mixer. As a result, the mushroom compost was the most uniformly produced by the self-propelled turner.

A. auricular-judae cultivars, ‘Yong-a’ was cultivated in JARES on 2015. Ear mushroom have been consumed the form of dried mushrooms imported from china, but the production and consumption of domestic ear mushroom have been increasing recently. However, how the different drying methods affect the quality of domestic varieties is not clear. Therefore, we examined the effects of drying methods to improve the competitiveness of dried ear mushrooms using domestic cultivar, ‘Yong-a’. Ear mushroom samples were dried using sun-drying and hot air drying(50, 60°C) and combined of two methods(hot air drying at 50, 60°C after 3,6 and 9 hours sun drying) and drying time, rehydration ratio, color and hardness, vitamin D2 contents were evaluated. Drying time was the fastest at 60°C hot air drying(11.5h) and the slowest at 50°C hot air drying(16h) and drying time was shorter as the sun drying time was longer. The rehydration ratio was the highest at 60°C hot air drying(18.6%) and increased as the drying time decreased. After drying and rehydration, the color showed no significant difference between drying methods. The hardness of rehydrated mushroom was highest at sun drying and 60°C hot air drying. The contents of ergosterol were not significantly different by drying methods. However, vitamin D2 was lowest at 50 °C and 60°C hot air drying (4.22mg%, 3.87mg%) and highest at sun drying and 50°C hot air drying after 6 hours sun drying (12.52mg%, 12.99mg%). vitamin D2 contents was higher at 50°C hot air drying than 60°C. According to the results of color, hardness, vitamin D2 contents of dried ear mushroom, sun drying is the best method. When the sun drying is not possible, hot air drying at 60°C is suitable, but it is better to use sun drying method to increase the vitamin D2 contents.

This study was designed to optimize ethanol extraction process of unfertilized corn silk (UCS) to maximize phytochemical contents and bioactivities. The response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) was employed to obtain the optimal extraction conditions. The influence of ethanol concentration, extraction temperature and extraction time on total polyphenol contents, total flavonoid contents, maysin contents, 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activities and tyrosinase inhibition were analyzed. For all dependable variables, the most significant factor was ethanol concentration followed by extraction temperature and extraction time. The following optimum conditions were determined by simultaneous optimization of several responses with the Derringer’s desirability function using the numerical optimization function of the Design-Expert program: ethanol concentration 80.45%, extraction temperature 53.49°C, and extraction time 4.95 h. Under these conditions, the predicted values of total polyphenol contents, total flavonoid contents, maysin contents, DPPH radical scavenging activity and tyrosinase inhibition were 2758.74 μg GAE/g dried sample, 1520.81 μg QUE/g dried sample, 810.26 mg/100g dried sample, 56.86% and 43.49%, respectively, and the overall desirability (D) was 0.74.

Recently, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) has been widely used in the areas of diagnosis, monitoring treatment efficiency, and prognosis for various heart diseases, especially heart failure (HF). In this paper, we try to estimate the prognostic significance of NT-proBNP as a risk evaluation marker in Non-ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) patients. We selected NSTEMI patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) primarily using a drug-eluting stent within 24 h after the onset of chest pain. We compared incidences of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including death, myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis (ST), and target vessel revascularization (TVR) in two patient groups according to a high or low serum concentration of NT-proBNP, which was measured in the emergency room (ER). We intend to minimize selection bias selecting comparing groups, considering covariate of observed variables together using propensity score matching (PSM) and propensity score weighting (PSW) based on propensity score (PS) to control the difference in baseline characteristics between high- and low NT-proBNP groups. We found that as the log NT-proBNP value increases by 1 through a hazard function of COX’s analysis, the risk of MACE increases by 1.312 times. This result indicated that the NT-proBNP level on ER admission can be used as a significant prognostic indicator to estimate 1 year of MACE in NSTEMI patients who were treated with PCI within 24 h after the onset of chest pain.

Unidirectionally solidified TiAl alloys were prepared by optically-heated floating zone method at growth rates of 10 to 70 mm/h in flowing argon. The microstructures and tensile properties of these crystal bars were found to depend strongly on the growth rate and alloy composition. TiAl alloys with composition of 47 and 50 at.%Al grown under the condition of 10 mm/h showed Ti3Al(α2)/TiAl(γ) layer structures similar to single crystals. As the growth rate increased, the alloys with 47 and 50 at.%Al compositions showed columnar-grain structures. However, the alloys fabricated under the condition of 10 mm/ h had a layered structure, but the alloy with increased growth rate consisted of γ single phase grains. The alloy with a 53 at.%Al composition showed a γ single phase regardless of the growth rate. Room-temperature tensile tests of these alloys revealed that the columnar-grained material consisting of the layered structure showed a tensile ductility of larger than 4 % and relatively high strength. The high strength is caused by stress concentration at the grain boundaries; this enhances the secondary slip or deformation twinning across the layered structure in the vicinity of the grain boundaries, resulting in the appreciable ductility.

Anthriscus sylvestris (L.) Hoffm. is a perennial herb found widely distributed in various regions of Korea, Europe, and New Zealand. The root of A. sylvestris have been extensively used in the treatment for antitussive, antipyretic, cough remedy in Oriental medicine, but the physiologically active function of the leaf of A. sylvestris is as yet unknown. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity and the mechanism of cell death of water extracts of leaf of Anthriscus sylvestris (WELAS), on human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Our data showed that WELAS treatment inhibited cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the treatment of WELAS markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells, as determined by the viability assay, DAPI stain and FACS analysis. WELAS also increased the proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3, -9 and PARP (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase). In addition, exposure to WELAS decreased the expression of Bcl-2 (an anti-apoptotic factor), but increased the expression of Bax (a pro-apoptotic factor), suggesting that mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways are mediated in WELAS-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results indicate that water extracts of leaf of A. sylvestris inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway in FaDu human hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, we propose that the water extracts of leaf of A. sylvestris is a novel chemotherapeutic drug, having growth inhibitory properties and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

Metformin (1,1-dimethylbiguanide hydrochloride), derived from French lilac (Galega officinalis), is a first-line anti-diabetic drug prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the role of metformin in odontoblastic cell differentiation is still unclear. This study therefore undertook to examine the effect of metformin on regulating odontoblast differentiation in MDPC-23 mouse odontoblastic cells derived from mouse dental papilla cells. As compared to controls, metformin significantly accelerated the mineralization, significantly increased and accelerated the expressions of ALP and Col I mRNAs, and significantly increased the accelerated expressions of DSPP and DMP-1 mRNAs, during differentiation of MDPC-23 cells. There was no alteration in cell proliferation of MDPC-23 cells, on exposure to metformin. These results suggest that the effect of metformin on MDPC-23 mouse odontoblastic cells derived from mouse dental papilla cells, facilitates the odontoblast differentiation and mineralization, without altering the cell proliferation.

The red-spotted apollo butterfly, Parnassius bremeri Bremer, 1864 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), has been listed as an endangered species in Korea. We developed microsatellite markers by nest-generation sequencing (NGS), selected 12 markers, and applied the markers to available South Korean populations to understand population genetic characteristics. The genotyping of 40 P. bremeri individuals from three localities in South Korea showed that at each locus, the observed number of alleles ranged from 17 to 43, the observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.84722-0.90556 and 0.76045-0.79208, respectively, and FIS was –0.155 to –0.121. STRUCTURE analysis supported the presence of two genetic pools in all three populations, although an immediate reason for this subdivision is not known. The population based FST, RST, and front wing length collectively suggest that at least Samchuk population in Gangwon Province has a significant distance. Further scrutinized analysis is undergoing.

The tiny dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea (Odonata: Libellulidae) is one the smallest dragonflies in the world and listed as a second-degree endangered wild animal in Korea. We developed microsatellite markers and applied selected markers to South Korean populations to understand population genetic characteristics, along with two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene sequences (COI and ND5). Two mtDNA-based population genetic analysis indicates substantially reduced genetic diversity in an island population (Muuido) compared to others. On the other hand, population-based FST and RST consistently support that N. pygmaea populations are overall well interconnected with a relatively high gene flow. These results may collectively indicate that N. pygmaea populations in South Korea may have rather larger population size than we previously acknowledged based on a single-locus mtDNA sequence and field observation.

Entomopathogenic fungi, widely distributed in nature, have been developed as biopesticides of agricultural pests. However, little is known about isolation method for obtaining a variety of highly virulent strains from the soil. In this work, the previously established method using mealworm (larvae of Tenebrio molitor) as a baiting system was used to efficiently isolate fungal strains from soil, and the isolated fungal library in Korea was established. To isolate entomopathogenic fungi, soil samples from 10 regions of Korea such as Iksan, Imsil, Gunsan, Yeosu, Suncheon, Gwangyang, Jinju, Hamyang, Boseong and Jangseong were collected. Of the collected soils, 21 and 34 isolates of entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from Iksan and Gunsan, respectively. The isolates were classified as genera of Metarhizium, Beauveria and Isaria. This work can suggest an effective insect pathogenic fungal isolation method

Entomopathogenic fungi have been known as promising candidates in biological control. However, a large number of conidia with higher stability should be produced for industrialization. In this work investigated the possibility of several grains for the production of thermotolerant Isaria javanica and I. fumosoroseus conidia. The fungal conidia were produced on ten grains for 14 days in Petri dish conditions. Of the ten granular substrates, millet, perilla seed and barley showed the high conidial production, 15.7 ± 8.4, 17.3 ± 5.2 and 13.5 ± 1.9 × 109 conida/g in I. javanica and 15.9 ± 0.6, 15.0 ± 0.5 and 15.0 ± 0.7 ×109 conida/g in I. fumosoroseus, respectively. However, the two strains showed relatively low thermal stability regardless of substrates, when exposed to 45℃ for 1, 2 and 3 hours. This work suggests a possible substrate for conidial production of entomopathogenic fungi with low cost.

Dendrolimus superans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) has long been acknowledged to present in South Korea under the circumstance of a substantial change in species names of Dendrolimus. In the present study, we found that specimens of D. superans collected from South Korea were D. sibiricus, rather than D. superans. Comparison of Korean specimens to the D. superans from Japan and the D. sibiricus from Russia in terms of wing morphology, female and male genitalia, a partial COI gene sequence, and a partial internal spacer sequence 2 (ITS2) consistently supported the presence of D. sibiricus in South Korea. Phylogenetic analyses using concatenated sequences of COI and ITS2 from available individuals of D. sibiricus and D. superans both by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods the Korea samples to be D. sibiricus.