Insect is an important player in the ecosystem as a prey for animals. Moreover, they are a valuable candidate food source for rearing animal. Tenebrio molitor (Coeloptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae are known as a good food source with high protein, unsaturated fatty acid, minerals. Therefore, it has strong potential to substitute the conventional meat consumption. To utilize T. molitor as a feed, the standard mass-rearing protocol is required. To make standard mass-rearing protocol, we tested different temperature(17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5 and 30°C) conditions for egg, larvae, pupae and adult T. molitor to identify the optimal rearing condition. Hatching was occurred within 15~32.5°C range. However, 17.5~27.5°C was required to get more than 70 % hatching rete. When the eggs were treated in 22.5~27.5°C, all eggs were hatched within 10 days. As larval development, shorter developmental period, higher pupation and eclosion rates were observed within 25~27.5°C temperature range. In addition, we compared the number of egg, oviposition duration and time required to start egg-laying. The minimum egg-laying(258.40±10.86) was observed at 17.5°C, but the maximum(749.10±7.45) was at 27.5°C. The maximum oviposition duration (137.00±12.73 day (mean±S.D.)) was achieved at 27.5°C, but the minimum (87.50±3.54 day (mean±S.D.)) was at 30°C. The time required to start egg-laying was less than 10 days at 17.5, 27.5, and 30°C. To consider all the factors, we concluded that the optimal temperature is 27.5 °C.

The present research investigated copper and cadmium stress-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using annealing control primers (ACP) with the differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Vernal) leaves. Alfalfa leaves were subjected to 250 μM of copper and cadmium treatment for a period of 6 h. A total of 120 ACPs was used. During copper and cadmium treatment, 6 DEGs were found to be up or down regulated. During copper stress treatment, 1 DEG was up-regulated, and 3 novel genes were discovered. Similarly, during cadmium stress treatment, 1 DEG was up-regulated and 5 novel genes were identified. Among all 6 DEGs, DEG-4 was identified as the gene for trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase, DEG-5 was identified as the gene for senescence-associated protein DIN1 and DEG-6 was identified for caffeic acid O-methyltransferase. All the up-regulated genes may play a role in copper and cadmium stress tolerance in alfalfa.

With the sweeping popularity of Korean Wave across Asia, the number of Chinese tourists to Korea has rapidly been increasing over the last decade. Korea Tourism Organization estimates that the number of Chinese visitors exceeded 6 million in 2014, and Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade estimates that their spending in Korea surpassed KRW 7.67 trillion in 2013 alone. In particular, Chinese tourists spend most of their money in Korea on shopping. Since Chinese have become the major customers of the Korean market, it is critical to understand their consumption patterns and behavior. Previous studies looked into tourist destinations and shops that Chinese people frequently visited, and also researched on product selection criteria regarding their preference on fashion products. However, this study focuses on how Chinese tourists feel while they are shopping in Korea and how such emotions affect their evaluation on the purchased products. Planned purchase refers to the situation where the buying intention of a consumer has already been formed prior to entering the store based on the perception of purchase necessity. An unplanned purchase is not anticipated or planned before the customer enters the store, and products are bought without planning similar to impulsive buying. Oliver (1980) suggested that emotions are an important factor when consumers evaluate a product. Therefore, this study focuses mainly on the emotion created during the shopping. We conceptualized product attitudes based on the expected consumer satisfaction paradigms of Oliver and Desarbo (1988). This study also explores the product usage satisfaction of tourists as a post-purchase attitude. According to statistics, majority of Chinese tourists who buy fashion products are women. The survey is conducted on 550 women in the age group between 20 and 60 years who have visited Seoul before, using an online panel of respondents sampled by an international survey firm. 530 questionnaires are analyzed, with the remaining responses determined to be incomplete. For the demographic characteristics of the sample group, the average age is 33.5 years old, with 201 in their 20s (37.9%), 190 in their 30s (35.8%), 107 in their 40s (20.2%), and 32 in or over their 50s (6.0%). As for the average household income, RMB 10,000 to 20,000 is the most frequent (210 or 39.6%). For residential areas, Hua Dong (East China) is the most frequent (207 or 39.1%). Data are analyzed using structural equation modeling by AMOS 20.0. Respondents were asked to recall most impressive fashion product that they bought in Korea during their visit, and to answer whether it was planned or unplanned purchase.This study also attempts to measure the emotions they had during the purchase in order to understand differences in attitude toward the purchased products. Although emotions cannot persist over time, previous studies have measured emotions during consumption to evaluate the situation. The study categorizes respondents according to their purchasing power into heavy and light buyers to determine the moderating effects of purchase amount. In the literature, purchasing power is described in terms of the number of purchase and purchase amount. Based on previous studies on purchasing power, consumers can be categorized as heavy or light buyers. This study focuses on purchase amount in the context of tourism shopping. The results find that planned purchases tend to deliver positive emotions, which in turn enhances product satisfaction. Unplanned purchases, positive shopping emotions have positive impact on their attitude toward purchased products. Interestingly, unplanned purchases have negative direct impact on the product attitude without the mediating role of positive shopping emotions, showing the importance of positive emotions that consumers feel while shopping When it comes to the impact of purchasing power, the effect of unplanned purchases of light buyers on shopping emotions or product attitude was not significant. Only planned purchases trigger positive emotions, many of which induced positive impact on product satisfaction. For heavy buyers, on the other hand, even unplanned purchases have positive impact on their product satisfaction when positive shopping emotions are developed. This study is differentiated from previous studies in that it deals with how purchase types (planned vs. unplanned) affect shopping emotions and post-purchase product attitude of Chinese tourists who account for the significant share of the Korean tour industry. It is also notable that this study groups tourists by their purchasing power and identifies the impact of their purchasing power, considering the fact that tourists are increasingly influencing the domestic consumption market. The Korean government and companies may tap into the results of this study to provide better environments to trigger positive shopping emotions to tourists. However, it should be considered that the subject of this study is limited to Chinese female tourists, which should be complemented by future studies.

Insect pollinators of the endanger orchid Cypripedium japonicum were surveyed and identified during two years, as a part of a conservation project of the orchid at Jukyeup-san and Hwaak-san (Mt.), South Korea. In total 40 individuals of 16 species in 4 families were identified. The dominant family was Halictidae, and Lasioglossum exiliceps Vachal visited the most frequently C. japonicum during the surveys. The average visiting frequency was 2.5 individuals per hour and the highest 4.3, from 12:00 – 13:00 in a day. After 15:00 insects did not visit the flowers at all. However, all of the visiting insects were found to not carry a pollinium or pollens of the orchard on their bodies; pollen carryover by any of the visiting insects did not occur at all. The orchid seems to require certain pollinators in particular body thickness due to its unique pollination mechanism. The orchid has two exit route openings, around 1 cm in diametre, where the entrapped insects can exit and an anther is situated just in front of each opening. It was inferred that a pollen carrier should be around 1 cm in body thickness. Therefore, the candidate species as the proper pollen carriers can be Tetralonia nipponensis Perez, Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans Smith and Bombus consobrinus Dahlbom among the surveyed visitors.

Germplasm collection of lily in the mountainousarea is laborious and time consuming accompanied withhigh costs and high risk due to inappropriate environmentalconditions. Cryopreservation being an ideal method for thelong-term preservation can be employed in conservation ofvaluable lily germplasm. Previously, we developed cryo-preservation protocol for Lilium germplasm using ‘dropletvitrification’. In this paper, we have chosen shoot tips as amaterial for cryopreservation because of their genetic safetyupon regrowth in tissue culture. Using this protocol, wehave preserved approximately 160 accessions of lily germ-plasm in 2010~2012. The regeneration rates are rangedfrom 54.3% to 58.5% while the survival rates were from58.3% to 66.4%. Among Lilium germplasm cryopreserved,there are some Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese seedstocks which have good qualities for inter-species hybrid.Moreover, we also conserved Korean wild endangered seedstock, especially Lilium hansonii. The morphological studyof Lilium germplasm regenerated from cryopreserved mate-rial confirmed the stability of clonal material following cryo-preservation. We anticipate this cryo-collection will beavailable and useful to curators or breeders of Lilium andthis cryobank will also facilitate the conservation and inter-national exchange of Lilium germplasm.

Polyhedrin is the major component of the nuclear viral occlusions produced during replication of the baculovirus Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). To enhance the production efficiency of foreign protein in baculovirus expression system, the effects of various polyhedrin fragments were investigated by fusion expressing them with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Recombinant viruses were generated to express EGFP fused with polyhedrin fragments based on the previously reported minimal region for self-assembly and the KRKK nuclear localization signal (NLS). The marked increase of EGFP by these fusion expressions was confirmed through protein and fluorescence intensity analyses. Among the fusion-expressed protein in nucleus and cytoplasm, the most hyper-expression was observed in the fusion of amino acids 19 to 110 and 32 to 59 of polyhedrin. Also these fragments, some degradation of only the fused polyhedrin was observed in the fusion of amino acids 19 to 85 and 32 to 85. The production of E2 protein, which is a major antigen of classical swine fever virus, was dramatically increased by fusion expression with polyhedrin amino acids 19 to 110, and its preliminary immunogenicity was verified using experimental guinea pigs. The production of luciferase was approximately two folds increased by fusion expression with polyhedrin amino acids 32 to 59, and its activity was measured using Luminometer. This study suggests a new option for higher expression of useful foreign recombinant protein using the partial polyhedrin fusion expression in baculovirus.

Flexible transparent conducting films (TCFs) were fabricated by dip-coating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. The amount of coated SWCNTs was controlled simply by dipping number. Because the performance of SWCNT-based TCFs is influenced by both electrical conductance and optical transmittance, we evaluated the film performance by introducing a film property factor using both the number of interconnected SWCNT bundles at intersection points, and the coverage of SWCNTs on the PET substrate, in field emission scanning electron microscopic images. The microscopic film property factor was in an excellent agreement with the macroscopic one determined from electrical conductance and optical transmittance measurements, especially for a small number of dippings. Therefore, the most crucial factor governing the performance of the SWCNT-based TCFs is a SWCNT-network structure with a large number of intersection points for a minimum amount of deposited SWCNTs.

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of Gastrocnemius and Low Back-muscle isotonic exercise on static•dynamic standing balance during the period of 4 weeks. This study was two groups pretest-posttest design. Nineteen subjects who were over 22 years old were randomly assigned to either the experimental group that received the Gastrocnemius muscle exercise(n=9) or the low back muscle exercise(n=10) : The former group performed isotonic exercise(plantar flexion), the latter group performed isotonic exercise(trunk extension) a total of 18 times for three times per week for four weeks. Two groups also performed static and dynamic balance before the exercise and 4weeks after the exercise. The data were analyzed by using the paired t-test and independent t-test. The results were as follows: As compared with change of dynamic balance performance capacity at two groups, a significant difference was shown in the test(p<.05), but not in static balance(p>.05). Also, a significant difference of balance between groups was not shown in the test. In this study indicated that gastrocnemius and low back muscle isotonic exercise will have positive impact on standing balance.

The fact that flip-flops, one of many different types of unstable shoes, are light and relatively easy to put on, accounts for their popularity among people. But because flip-flops rely heavily on the support of a single thong between your first and second toes, they impose a huge amount of pressure onto lower leg. Thus in the following experiment we tried to examine the different effects of flip-flops and running shoes in terms of their effect on muscle activity and fatigue of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius during walking. In order to measure an electromyogram we used Free EMG system. 10 men and 10 women in running shoes ran on treadmills for 15 minutes at 4.8km/h, 2 days later the same experiment was carried out, but this time, in flip-flops. p value turned out to be greater than .05 and thus there was no considerable difference between the effects of flip-flops and running shoes on muscle activity and fatigue during walking. Therefore we conclude that despite the fact that flip-flops are considered unstable, their effects on muscle activity and fatigue of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius are negligible.

Apolipophorin III (apoLp-III) is a well-known hemolymph protein having a functional role in lipid transport and immune response of insects. We cloned full-length cDNA encoding putative apoLp-III from larvae of the coleopteran beetle, Tenebrio molitor (TmapoLp-III), by identification of clones corresponding to the partial sequence of TmapoLp-III, subsequently followed with full length sequencing by a clone-by-clone primer walking method. The complete cDNA consists of 890 nucleotides, including an ORF encoding 196 amino acid residues. Excluding a putative signal peptide of the first 20 amino acid residues, the 176-residue mature apoLp-III has a calculated molecular mass of 19,146 Da. Genomic sequence analysis with respect to its cDNA showed that TmapoLp-III was organized into four exons interrupted by three introns. Several immune-related transcription factor binding sites were discovered in the putative 5’-flanking region. BLAST and phylogenetic analysis reveals that TmapoLp-III has high sequence identity (88%) with Tribolium castaneum apoLp-III but shares little sequence homologies (<26%) with other apoLp-IIIs. Homology modeling of Tm apoLp-III shows a bundle of five amphipathic helices, including a short helix 3’. The ‘helix-short helix-helix’ motif was predicted to be implicated in lipid binding interactions, through reversible conformational changes and accommodating the hydrophobic residues to the exterior for stability. Highest level of TmapoLp-III mRNA was detected at late pupal stages, albeit it is expressed in the larval and adult stages at lower levels. The tissue specific expression of the transcripts showed significantly higher numbers in larval fat body and adult integument. In addition, TmapoLp-III mRNA was found to be highly up-regulated in late stages of L. monocytogenes or E. coli challenge. These results indicate that TmapoLp-III may play an important role in innate immune responses against bacterial pathogens in T. molitor.

Mealworms, Tenebrio molitor (L.) is used as an important animal feed additive for growth promotion and health management, but potentially exposes to fungal infection. In this work, virulence of two species of entomopathogenic fungi against the insect, and the relationship between abiotic features and virulence were investigated. Secondly our consideration was also given to the effect of chemical fungicides on conidial germination for risk control. Between Beauveria bassiana (Bb) and Metarhizium roberstii (Mr) (previously M. anisopliae), Bb isolates had much higher virulence (~100% mortality in 3~4 days after the treatment), rather than Mr isolates in laboratory assays. Next, fungus-treated mealworms were kept at wheat bran at 20, 25, 30 and 35℃ with 3, 6, 9 times of water spray to the feeds for set-up of different humidity conditions. Inoculation of fungi to mealworms was conducted by fungal spray and feeding methods, which resulted in higher virulence in feeding method. In the feeding method, all temperature treatments except 35℃ showed high virulence against mealworms, but any significant relationship between virulence and humidity was not observed. In the chemical fungicide screening, fluazinam (CAS No. 79622-59-6) and mancozeb (8018-01-7) significantly inhibited the germination of Bb and Mr conidia. This work suggest that contamination of wheat bran with fungal pathogens, particularly B. bassiana may induce mycosis of mealworms, but introduction of effective fungicides possibly reduce fungal infection.

To enhance the production efficiency of foreign protein in baculovirus expression system, the effects of polyhedrin fragments were investigated by fusion expression them with the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP). Recombinant viruses were generated to express EGFP fused with polyhedrin fragments based on the minimal region for self-assembly and the KRKK nuclear localization signal (NLS). The increase of EGFP production by fusion expressions was confirmed through protein and fluorescence intensity analyses. The importance of nuclear localization for enhanced production of EGFP was shown by the mutation of the NLS within the fused polyhedrin fragment. Among the fusion expressed protein in cytoplasm, the most hyper-expression was observed in the fusion of amino acids 32 to 59 of polyhedrin. Polyhedrin fragment fusion expression with classical swine fever virus E2 protein also resulted hyper-enhanced expression of E2 protein. However, the fusion expression of porcine circovirus ORF2 with polyhedrin fragment did not show significant enhance of ORF2 production. These results suggested that the enhancement of foreign protein production when fused with polyhedrin is caused by the enhanced stability of expressed protein.

Shitao(:tJ11) suggested that the one stroke of painting is the beginning of the Universe. he claimed that the one is the foundation of all the images. It is based on the DaoJ! that is erupted myriad creatures. His theory of one stroke is showing the root of the world and mind of artists. His theory is a mind theory of mind as well. As a Korean painter, I would like to explain my painting by the Shitao's theory of one stroke. It is painted by natural color from pine tree to draw the pine tree. It is claimed that one stroke is displayed by the way of seamless from the material to art.

This study aims to examine the effects of taping of the ankle joint on the static and dynamic balance and gait ability of stroke patients. Twenty-six stroke patients receiving physical therapy at a hospital located in Gyeonggi-do were divided equally into a group that had taping in physical therapy and an ordinary physical therapy group. They exercised for 30 minutes each, 3 times per week for 8 weeks from June to August 2011. Romberg’s eye open and eye closed tests, limits of stability(LOS), forward and back test, timed up and go test(TUG) and 10-meter gait velocity test were performed to evaluate static balance, dynamic balance, and gait ability, respectively, prior to and 8 weeks after the intervention. Differences within each group in relation to the lapse of time were compared by a paired t-test. Differences between the two groups were compared by an independent t-test. Regarding comparison of differences within each group, all tests resulted in significant changes in both groups after the intervention (p<.05). Comparison of differences between the two groups showed that taping in the physical therapy group had significantly better test results than the ordinary physical therapy group in all measured items(p<.05). The after effects of ankle taping on stroke patients are more efficient and effective than ordinary physical therapy alone in improving balance and gait ability.

Interferon induced transmembrane protein-1 (Ifitm-1) has been reported to have an important role in primordial germ cell formation, and it has expressed in female reproductive organ. In the present study, Ifitm-1 gene expression was identified in testes and all part of epididymis using western immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, Ifitm-1 expression was observed on the head of spermatozoa. To investigate the role of Ifitm-1 gene expression in behavior of spermatozoa after acrosome reaction, fresh sperm was incubated with calcium ionophore to induce acrosome reaction, whereas the expression of Ifitm-1 was not altered after the acrosome reaction. Then to identify the effect of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and other seminal parameters, different concentration of Ifitm-1 antibody was incubated with spermatozoa, and seminal parameters were assessed using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Interestingly, motility, progressive, and VAP were increased in the sperm with Ifitm-1 antibody treated compared to rabbit serum, however other parameters such as straightness were not changed. In order to identify the functional significance of Ifitm-1 in fertilization, capacitated spermatozoa were pre-incubated with anti- Ifitm-1 antibody and subsequently examined the ability to adhere to mouse oocytes. However, any defection or alteration in sperm-egg fusion was not found, Ifitm-1 antibody treated or non-treated spermatozoa showed a normal penetration. Although the precise role of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and following fertilization need to be elucidated, this study suggests that the activation of Ifitm-1 on the sperm may enhance the motility of spermatozoa in mice.

The T-cell receptor (TCR) engages with an antigen and initiates a signaling cascade that leads to the activation of transcription factors. Roquin, a protein encoded by the RC- 3H1 gene and characterized as an immune regulator, was recently identified as a novel RING-type ubiquitin ligase family member, but the mechanisms by which Roquin regulates T-cell responses are unclear. We used the EL-4 murine lymphoma cell line to elucidate the role of Roquin in vitro. Roquin-overexpressing EL-4 cells became hyper-responsive after anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation in vitro and were a major source of the cytokines IL-2 and TNF-α. Upon activation, these cells showed particularly enhanced production of IL-2 and TNF-α. To clarify the important role played by Roquin in T-cell responses ex vivo, we generated T-cell-specific Roquin transgenic (Tg) mice. Roquin-Tg CD4+ T-cells showed enhanced production of IL-2 and TNF-α in response to TCR stimulation with anti-CD28 co-stimulation. Further studies are necessary to investigate the role of Roquin in the regulation of primary T-cell activation, survival, and differentiation.