The prevalence of cancer in companion dogs is growing nowadays with the increasing worldwide population of domestic dogs. Since there is a less established standard of care in veterinary medicine, investigational treatments, such as the development of biomarkers can be considered as a therapeutic intervention for early diagnosis. Despite the enormous efforts that have been invested in the search of biomarkers, still, there is a need for easy detection of significant biological markers for predicting canine cancers at an early stage. In this study, we have analyzed the expression pattern of previously reported 46 canine cancer-associated candidate genes in blood specimens using real-time qPCR. We hypothesized that analysis of gene expression in blood would provide preliminary evidence of local or systemic immunogenic response which further contribute to the easy and early diagnosis of canine cancer from blood specimen as an analytical tool. The datasets included a total of 22 blood samples collected from different breeds of dogs diagnosed with cancer and five from healthy normal dogs. RT-qPCR analysis was performed by employing the SYBR Green PCR mix to assess the expression of these 46 genes in a total of 27 samples. From our result, a total of nine genes (ROS1, C1QA, CD48, IL1b, TLR2, IL2R, CHI3L1, CTSS, and TLR7) were found to be significantly up-regulated (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01) in the cancer samples compared to non-cancer samples. The relative expression level of ROS1, C1QA, CD48, IL1b, TLR2, IL2R, CHI3L1, CTSS, and TLR7 genes was 5.74, 4.78, 3.94, 2.94, 2.57, 2.53, 2.50, 2.04, and 2.57, respectively, in cancer samples compared to non-cancer samples. Thus, our results reveal several highly expressed cancer genes that can be therapeutic target genes for further testing in canine cancers.

Three-dimensional (3D) organoids act as model systems because they mimic in vivo tissue morphology. Recent advancements in the field have demonstrated that organoids derived from various organs have assisted in understanding the underlying mechanisms of disease modeling and expanded our knowledge of organ development in vitro. Furthermore, these organoids have become a promising biomaterial in regenerative medicine for therapeutic purposes as well as in nutritional research for feed efficiency measurement in livestock. Intestinal organoids of livestock, including pigs, cattle, chickens, and horses, have been developed. These could be used to examine host-pathogen interactions, such as interaction between enteric viruses and epithelial cells, and are potential alternatives to in vivo systems. However, there are very limited studies regarding species-specific medium to cultivate and establish intestinal organoids of livestock. Species-specific medium is applied differently between species for the cultivation of intestinal organoids, and its modification is important for the maintenance of specific cell types or genes from the cellular diversity of the intestinal epithelium. In this study, we introduce the histological development of a 3D culture system and a species-specific medium for the cultivation of intestinal organoids in livestock. Finally, we discuss the importance and future perspectives of intestinal organoids in the fields of agriculture and biotechnology for various purposes.

The increase in temperature due to climate warming is predicted to affect crop yields in the future. Until now, various types of OTC (open top chamber) that simulate the future climate condition have been developed and used to study the effect of temperature increase due to global warming on maize growth. However, in most OTCs, high equipment and maintenance costs were required to artificially increase the temperature. This study was carried to develop a cost-effective and simple OTC suitable for climate warming experiments for forage maize. Three octagonal OTCs with a height of 3.5 m × a diameter of 4.08 m and a partially covered top were constructed. The lower part of OTC covered film was opened at a height of 26 cm (OTC-26), 12 cm (OTC-12) from the ground surface, or not opened (0 cm, OTC-0). Mean air temperatures during the daytime on a sunny day in OTC-0, OTC-12 and OTC-26 increased to 3.23℃, 1.33℃, and 0.89℃, respectively, compared to the ambient control plot. For a pilot test, forage maize, ‘Gwangpyeongok’ was grown at OTCs and ambient control plots. As a result, in the late maize vegetative growth phase (July 30), the plant height was increased more than 45% higher than the ambient control plot in all OTC plots, and the stem diameter also increased in all OTC plots. These results indicate that it is possible to set the temperature inside the OTC by adjusting the opening height of the lower end of the OTC, and it can be applied to study the response of forage maize to elevated temperature. An OTC, with its advantages of energy free, low maintenance cost, and simple temperature setting, will be helpful in studying maize growth responsiveness to climate warming in the future.

Aluminum (Al) stress in acidic pH is known to decrease the growth and productivity of alfalfa. However, not much is known about how the application of silicon (Si) affects the Al stress response in alfalfa. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of exogenous application of Si on the growth of alfalfa seedlings exposed to Al stress in pots. Alfalfa seedlings grown in pots for 2 weeks were treated either Al stress (pH 4.0, 0.2 mM Al) or Al stress + Si (1 mM) for 5 days, lengths and biomass of shoot and root, and chlorophyll and carotenoid contents in leaf tissues were analyzed respectively. Al stress treatment inhibited shoot and root growth, and decreased fresh and dry weights, and chlorophyll content in leaves, but increased carotenoid content. In contrast, when alfalfa seedlings treated with Al stress combined with Si, delayed growth caused by Al stress of shoot and root of alfalfa seedlings was restored, dry weight was increased and chlorophyll content of leaf tissue was increased, but carotenoid content was decreased. These results suggest that Si has a function of alleviating Al toxicity in alfalfa, of which it exhibits a mitigating effect by a function that overlaps with some of the intracellular functions of carotenoids.

As interest in the sustainable fashion industry continues to increase along with climate issues, it is necessary to identify research trends in sustainable fashion and seek new development directions. Therefore, this study aims to analyze research trends on sustainable fashion. For this purpose, related papers were collected from the KCI (Korean Citation Index) and Scopus, and 340 articles were used for the study. The collected data went through data transformation, data preprocessing, topic modeling analysis, core topic derivation, and visualization through a Python algorithm. A total of eight topics were obtained from the comprehensive analysis: consumer clothing consumption behavior and environment, upcycle product development, product types by environmental approach, ESG business activities, materials and material development, process-based approach, lifestyle and consumer experience, and brand strategy. Topics were related to consumption, production, and education of sustainable fashion, respectively. KCI analysis results and Scopus analysis results derived eight topics but showed differences from the comprehensive analysis results. This study provides primary data for exploring various themes of sustainable fashion. It is significant in that the data were analyzed based on probability using a research method that excluded the subjective value of the researcher. It is recommended that follow-up studies be conducted to examine social trends.

Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) and Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) are the main fungi that cause stonebrood in honey bees. Additionally, these fungi cause the declines of honey bee population and the economic loss in the beekeeping industry. In this study, the efficacy of a disinfectant, composed to chlorine dioxide (10%, w/v) and quaternary ammonium compound (12.5%, w/v), was evaluated against A. flavus and A. fumigatus. A fungicidal efficacy test by broth dilution method was used to determine the lowest effective dilution of the disinfectant following exposure to test fungi for 30 min at 4°C. The disinfectant and test fungi were diluted with low and high organic matter (OM) suspension according to treatment condition. On low OM condition, the fungicidal activity of the disinfectant against A. flavus and A. fumigatus was all 2.0 fold dilutions. On high OM condition, the fungicidal activity of the disinfectant against A. flavus and A. fumigatus was all 1.25 fold dilutions. The recommended dilution ratio of the disinfectant in low and high OM was 1.6 and 1.0 fold dilution, respectively. As the disinfectant possesses fungicidal efficacy against A. flavus and A. fumigatus, the disinfectant can be used to prevent the stonebrood in honey bees.

Strontium lanthanum vanadate La1-xSrxVO3 (LSVO) is a promising anode material for electrochemical devices, especially for solid oxide fuel cells, thanks to its irregular electrical conductivity. However, the known synthesis methods are incapable of producing well-dispersed LSVO nanoparticles (NPs) with homogeneous size distribution, which partly impedes the applicability of the material. Thus, a new approach to synthesize LSVO NPs with such characteristics is of paramount importance. In the present work, we successfully prepare LSVO NPs with a high dispersion degree and homogeneous size distribution via a modified co-precipitation pathway, followed by hydrogen reduction at a temperature as low as 700 oC. The prepared LSVO NPs display uniform sizes in the range of 50 ~ 100 nm and do not contain any secondary phases, according to XRD analysis. The chemical mechanism of reactions that occur to form the LSVO is thoroughly highlighted. The work functions of NPs measured by the UPS analysis are in the 2.13 ~ 3.62 eV range, making the LSVO powders promising for use in thermionic devices. An explanation of the role of Sr substitution in work function values of LSVO is also proposed.