The aphid genus Tuberaphis Takahashi belongs to the tribe Cerataphdini (Hemiptera: Hormaphidinae) and comprises 17 valid species. Generally, its species are distributed in East and South East Asia, where they primarily feed on Styrax spp. (Styracaceae) and utilize species within the Loranthaceae family as their secondary hosts. They form various shapes of galls on Styrax, looking coral and broccoli etc. Currently, the only aphid species reported to exclusively produce gall forms resembling broccoli head-shaped is Tuberaphis takeouchii (Takahashi). For the first time in Korea, an aphid species forming gall structures with a broccoli-head-like appearance has been discovered. We confirmed that the species discovered in Korea is a new species through morphological and molecular comparisons with T. takenouchii (Takahashi). To comprehend the life cycle of this new species, we conducted a year-long study investigating how the gall forms change and examined aphid polymorphism across different seasons. The results of this study additionally include as followings: 1) Species identification, 2) DNA barcoding, 3) population genetic analyses, and 4) morphological comparison using SEM

Honey bees are crucial pollinators for agricultural and natural ecosystems, but are experiencing heavy mortality in Korea due to a complex suite of factors. Extreme winter losses of honey bee colonies are a major threat to beekeeping but the combinations of factors underlying colony loss remain debatable. Finding solutions involves knowing the factors associated with high loss rates. To investigate whether loss rates are related to Varroa control and climate condition, we surveyed beekeepers in korea after wintering (2021–2022 to 2022–2023). The results show an average colony loss rate of 46%(2022) and 17%(2023), but over 40% colony loss before wintering at 2022. Beekeepers attempt to manage their honey bee colonies in ways that optimize colony health. Disentangling the impact of management from other variables affecting colony health is complicated by the diversity of practices used and difficulties handling typically complex and incomplete observational datasets. We propose a method to 1) Varroa mite population Control by several methods , and 2) Many nursing bee put in hive before wintering.

Recently, as the possibility of unexpected outbreaks of alien insects has increased due to climate change such as global warming, the importance of early control through rapid and accurate spread of exotic forest pest and change prediction diagnosis is required. This study summarizes and reports the followings: the establishment of monitoring strategy for exotic insects by the investigation of species distribution range through field surveys and others, the development of new diagnostic technique through microstructures and life-cycle, the dispersal of exotic insects, and ecological impact assessment using ecological methods and with the expansion of exotic insects and development of ecosystem impact prediction model.

This study introduces a newly discovered brittle star, Amphiophiura megapoma, from the mesophotic zone in the East Sea, Korea. It is the second species belonging to the genus Amphiophiura (which includes 57 species) to be recorded in Korean waters after A. sculpta. The specimen was discovered during a September 2022 survey, by SCUBA diving in the upper mesophotic zone of the East Sea, Korea. This study presents the morphological characteristics of A. megapoma, highlighting its differences from the related species within a comprehensive taxonomic description. It provides highresolution images of A. megapoma and a taxonomic key for Amphiophiura species in Korea.

Silicon (Si) has the potential to improve plant growth and stress tolerance. The study aimed to explore Si-involving plant responses and molecular characterization of different Si-responsive genes in alfalfa. In this study, the exogenous supplementation of Si enhanced plant growth, and biomass yield. Si-acquisition in alfalfa root and shoot was higher in Si-supplemented compared to silicon deficient (-Si) plants, implying Si-acquisition has beneficial on alfalfa plants. As a consequence, the quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) was significantly increased in silicon-sufficient (+Si) plants. The quantitative gene expression analysis exhibited a significant upregulation of the Lsi1, Lsi2, Lsi3, NIP5;1, and NIP6;1 genes in alfalfa roots, while BOR1, BOR4, NIP2, and NIP3 showed no significant variation in their expression. The MEME results further noticed the association of four motifs related to the major intrinsic protein (MIP). The interaction analysis revealed that NIP5;1 and Lsi1 showed a shared gene network with NIP2, BOR1, and BOR4, and Lsi2, Lsi3 and NIP3-1, respectively. These results suggest that members of the major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) family especially Lsi1, Lsi2, Lsi3, NIP5;1, and NIP6;1 genes helped to pass water and other neutral solutes through the cell membrane and those played significant roles in Si uptake and transport in plants. Together, these insights might be useful for alfalfa breeding and genome editing approaches for alfalfa improvement.

Background: Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer the immense therapeutic potential in stem cell-based therapy of degenerative disorders. However, clinical trials of human ESCs cause heavy ethical concerns. With the derivation of iPSCs established by reprogramming from adult somatic cells through the transgenic expression of transcription factors, this problems would be able to overcome. In the present study, we tried to differentiate porcine iPSCs (piPSCs) into endothelial cells (ECs) for stem cell-based therapy of vascular diseases. Methods: piPSCs (OSKMNL) were induced to differentiation into ECs in four differentiation media (APEL-2, APEL-2 + 50 ng/mL of VEGF, EBM-2, EBM-2 + 50 ng/ mL of VEGF) on cultured plates coated with matrigel® (1:40 dilution with DMEM/F-12 medium) for 8 days. Differentiation efficiency of these cells were exanimated using qRT-PCR, Immunocytochemistry, Western blotting and FACS. Results: As results, expressions of pluripotency-associated markers (OCT-3/4, SOX2 and NANOG) were higher observed in all porcine differentiated cells derived from piPSCs (OSKMNL) cultured in four differentiation media than piPSCs as the control, whereas endothelial-associated marker (CD-31) in the differentiated cells was not expressed. Conclusions: It can be seen that piPSCs (OSKMNL) were not suitable to differentiate into ECs in the four differentiation media unlike porcine epiblast stem cells (pEpiSCs). Therefore, it would be required to establish a suitable PSCs for differentiating into ECs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Lyophyllum decastes has been used for culinary purpose. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects from methanol, acetone, and hot water extracts of L. decastes fruiting bodies. The acetone and methanol extracts showed the higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazy radical scavenging activities than that of the hot water extract at 0.5–2.0 mg/mL and was comparable to the BHT, the positive control. The ferrous ion chelating effects of the mushroom extracts at 0.5–2.0 mg/mL were significantly higher than that of BHT. The reducing power of acetone extract (2.12) was significantly lower than that of BHT (2.73) at 2.0 mg/ mL. The mushroom extracts also showed inhibitory effects on production of nitric oxide (NO), and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lipopolysaccharide-induced murine macrophage cells in a concentration dependent manner. In vivo anti-inflammatory experiment on carrageenan-induced hind-paw edema of rat model, the acetone extract of the mushroom significantly suppressed the carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema of rats in a dose dependently. The results suggest that the fruiting bodies of Lyophyllum decastes are a good natural resource of antioxidant and anti-inflammation.

In recent years, the marketing literature has given considerable attention to the concept of online consumer misbehaviour. However, this increased interest has resulted in a significant accumulation of knowledge, leading to fragmentation and confusion in the field. This situation has serious implications for both researchers and practitioners, as it impedes the development of a coherent and unified understanding of the field. To address this issue, this paper presents a systematic review aimed at consolidating and organizing the available research on online consumer misbehaviour. The paper provides a conceptualization and operationalization of the concept of OCM. Additionally, the paper identifies and discusses the existing theories used in the field of OCM research.

This paper explores the relationships of various cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioural responses of e-discount sales promotion technique preferences consumers have when making purchases through online food delivery services (OFDS). This paper highlights new findings towards expanding e-discount and sales promotion literature and thus provide relevant implications.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare, yet little is known about how consumers experience and make decisions regarding follow-up care with medical AI. We take an interdisciplinary approach combining behavioral research and neuroscience to examine how anthropomorphism and personalization influence well-being and follow-up decisions. Study 1 found that consumers felt well-being after interacting with a highly personalized interaction, whether human or AI doctor. However, they preferred follow-up visits with the human doctor. Empathy mediated these effects. Study 2 used fMRI to show that the anterior cingulate cortex had greater activation when interacting with the human doctor, indicating more emotional processing and conflict resolution. These findings suggest that medical AI cannot currently replace human doctors, who remain vital for actual medical consultations and treatment. However, consumers viewed AI doctors positively and expressed a belief that AI will enhance well-being. By integrating neuroscience, this research provides biological evidence complementing behavioral findings.

The attitude-behavior gap and intention-behavior gap has not been research extensively. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of moderating or mediating factors on the relationship between intention or attitude and behavior of sustainable tourism. Intention was defined as the degree of a human being’s resolve to perform a certain action. The construct ‘Intention” has been used widely in some theories like the Theory of Planned Behavior. Researchers usually include the intention construct into their research framework to explain the theoretical mechanism. Sustainable or ecological tourism education has been implemented for years and empirical evidence provides us that almost all tourists are alerted to the importance of sustainability. There is a great challenge that tourists’ behavior might not concur with their intention. Policymakers and marketers really want to know the real factors affecting the association between the intention and behavior of sustainable tourism. Tourists’ purchase intention is a rational process and is affected by safety. Tourist behavior is associated with price and service environment which is a mixture of rational and emotional considerations.

Despite the importance of technology-based innovation and customer participation for both practitioners and academics, the impact of different customer participation types in new product innovation has rarely been addressed. Since consumers' positive assessment of new technologies leads to positive outcomes in the market, consumer evaluation of new technologies is important. Thus, examining the consumer perception of technology-based innovation including the different levels of customer participation is meaningful to new theoretical and practical insights.

The aspiration of entrepreneurs to extensively grow their firms has been found to make stronger contribution to economic growth than the entrepreneurship rate in general. Formal and informal institutions shape the business environments in which companies are operating. Thus, they affect entrepreneurs’ beliefs about firm growth. However, prior research gives little attention to the interaction effects of formal and informal institutions on entrepreneurial growth aspiration.

Social media has emerged as a prevalent tool for businesses in recent years through which brands actively engage in promotions. This development has resulted in several social media trends aimed at garnering increased consumer engagement on various social media platforms that brands utilize routinely. We investigate one such prevalent social media trend: brands sharing memes. Several popular brands, such as Netflix, regularly post memes on social media platforms. Therefore, it is important to study the brands’ use of memes and their resultant impact on consumer behavior.

This study aimed to build on past findings about differences in personal walking experiences by demonstrating what elements were beneficial to participants with different walking habits. Accordingly, this study established the relationships between valued walking elements and people’s motivation to walk, by dividing participants into three groups: Group W for people with a walking habit, Group HW for people who walk occasionally but not regularly, and Group NW for people who do not walk habitually. Participants walked a familiar and an unfamiliar route with a wearable device that recorded their heart-rate variability and electrodermal activity. Changes in the biometric data helped to identify the defining moments in each participant’s walk. Participants discussed these moments in one-on-one interviews with a researcher to pinpoint their valued walking elements. As a result, this study classified walking elements into six themes: “Surroundings,” “Social,” “Exploration,” “Route Plan,” “Physical Exercise,” and “Mental Thinking.” A walking habit development model was made to show how “Route Plan” and “Exploration” were beneficial to Group NW, “Social” and “Surroundings” were beneficial to Group HW, and “Route Plan,” “Mental Thinking,” and “Physical Exercise” were beneficial to Group W.

Technology innovation companies are focusing on contributing to business performance by R&D project as a strategic tool. Successful R&D leads to corporate competitiveness enhancement, national industrial development, but there are high uncertainty and risks in R&D. Public and private R&D projects are carried out to achieve various purposes. It was verified how the risk management and benefit management of the R&D project affect the detailed R&D project performance between the Public and private domain. The impact of Project Leadership on R&D performance was also analyzed. Those who have participated in the Public and Private R&D projects at companies or research institutes were surveyed. First, it was found that project risk and benefit management have partially an effect on R&D project performance. Second, Public and private R&D Project Leadership showed partially a interaction effect between project management and project performance.

Selenium (Se) is known as an antioxidant mineral and heme iron is a major source for iron intake which can promote carcinogenesis in the body. This study was to investigate the effect of Se on heme-aggravated colon carcinogenesis in mice. Three experimental groups included control [normal diet + AOM (10 mg/kg body weight in saline)/DSS (2% in the drinking water)], [AOM/DSS + hemin (534 mg/kg body weight in CMC)], and [AOM/DSS + hemin + Se (2.82 mg/kg diet in CMC)] groups. Colonic mucosa were stained with 0.3% methylene blue and the colonic polyps, aberrant crypt (AC) and aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were counted. Lipid peroxidation in liver was evaluated by the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) assay. The number of polyps in the hemin + Se group was 31.6% lower than that in the control group, and 41.4% lower than that in the hemin group. The number of AC in the hemin + Se group was 42.8% lower than that in the control group, and 49.1% lower than that in the hemin group. The number of ACF in the hemin + Se group was 49.0% lower than that in the control group, 45.7% than that in the hemin group. Hepatic TBARS level in the hemin + Se group was significantly low compared with the control group or the hemin group (p<0.05). These findings suggest that Se treatment may be protective against colon carcinogenesis promoted by a high heme-containing diet.

White rot fungus Cerrena unicolor IUM 5400 produced ethanol from diverse sugars, including glucose, mannose, galactose, and cellobiose at 0.38, 0.28, 0.08, and 0.27 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed, respectively. The fungus produced relatively high amounts of ethanol from xylose (0.28 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed); however, the ethanol conversion rate of arabinose was relatively low (at 0.08 g of ethanol per g sugar consumed). When cultured in a basal medium containing 20 g/L rice straw or corn stalks, C. unicolor IUM 5400 produced 0.18 g and 0.18 g of ethanol per g of rice straw and corn stalks, respectively. The results suggest that C. unicolor IUM 5400 is a white rot fungus that can effectively hydrolyze cellulose or hemicellulose to sugars and simultaneously convert them to ethanol.