목적 : 이 설문 연구는 의료민영화와 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대한 일반 소비자의 인식도를 조사하고 그 결과를 안경사 집단에 대한 선행연구와 비교·분석하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 방법 : 2018년 5월부터 6월까지 서울·경기 지역에서 150명의 일반 소비자를 대상으로 의료민영화와 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대하여 대면설문조사를 실시하고 응답 결과를 통계분석 하였다. 결과 : 일반 소비자 집단은 의료민영화 문제에 대하여 일관되게 부정적인 인식을 나타내었으나, 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대해서는 부정적인 인식이 많지 않고 중립적인 응답의 비율이 매우 높았다. 안경사 집단에 대한 유사한 설문 조사 결과와 비교했을 때, 의료민영화에 대한 인식은 두 집단이 비슷했으나 안경원 법인화에 대한 인식은 큰 차이를 보였다. 결론 : 반 소비자 집단의 안경원 법인화 문제에 대한 부정적인 인식도가 높지 않으므로, 안경사 집단은 일반 소비자 집단을 대상으로 안경원 법인화 문제에 대한 적극적인 홍보를 강화할 필요가 있다.

We examined the adaptability of Korean winter forage crops such as Italian ryegrass, barley, oat, and triticale in Uzbekistan. The overall growth before wintering was slightly different between Uzbekistani and Korean varieties, but there was no significant difference among winter forage crops. The heading date of the Korean triticale 'Shinyoung' was the earliest, (April 4), and the heading date of the Uzbekistani triticale 'Frack cerebristy' was quite late, (April 25). The heading date of the Korean Italian ryegrass 'Kowinearly' was four days earlier than that of 'Kowinmaster,' on April 13, and that of the Korean barley ‘Youngyang’ and ‘Yuyeon’ were five days earlier than that of the Uzbekistani barley ‘Bolgaly’. The maximum dry matter yield of winter forage crop was from Uzbekistan triticale, 'Frack cerebristy', which was 13,536 kg/ha. The dry matter yield of Uzbekistan barley was 8,222 kg/ha. Compared with Uzbekistan barley, 'Bolgaly', yields of Korean barley 'Youngyang' and 'Yuyeon', Korean oat 'Samhan', and Korean Italian ryegrass 'Kowinearly' and 'Kowinmaster' were 59∼64%, 125%, and 113∼133%, respectively.

The kidney is a highly complex organ, and acute or chronic renal diseases can occur with various complications such as diabetes and hypertension. So far, no target specific treatment is available in acute or chronic renal failure, necessitating the development of alternative therapeutic strategy. Recent experimental findings suggest that the renal function and structure can be restored after being treated with various sources of stem/progenitor cells. In this review, we discuss up-to-date findings of the potential of renal progenitor/stem cells in alleviating renal injuries with a focus on preclinical studies. We also review cellular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic function of these cells.

In this study, we developed ten microsatellite markers specific to L. angelina using the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform. Forty-three individuals of L. angelina collected from three localities in South Korea were genotyped to validate these markers and to preliminarily assess population genetic characteristics. The observed number of alleles, observed heterozygosity (HO), and expected heterozygosity (HE) at a locus ranged from 4–13, 0.211–0.950, and 0.659–0.871 in the population with the largest sample size (20 individuals), respectively, thereby validating the suitability of the markers for population analyses. Our preliminarily assessment of the population genetic characteristics indicates the presence of inbreeding in all populations, an isolation of the most geographically distant population (Seocheon), and lower HO than HE. The microsatellite markers developed in this study will be useful for studying the population genetics of L. angelina collected from additional sites in South Korea and from other regions. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

To verify the progenitor of B. mori, we sequenced 14 B. mori strains preserved in Korea and one B. mandarina collected in Korea and conducted phylogenetic analysis of Bombycidae using maximum-likelihood method and concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes. All B. mori strains, regardless of their origin, formed a strong monophyletic group, with the highest nodal support. This B. mori group was placed as the sister to the two B. mandarina collected each from Korea and Shandong, China with the highest nodal support. Finally, the remaining two B. mandarina, which were collected in Japan were independently placed as the most basal lineage of B. mori and B. mandarina group. These results appear to indicate that an immediate ancestor for the domestic silkworm strains may have been originated from China and Korea.

The global biopesticide market was estimated to become about 4% of the total crop protection market in 2015, mainly due to variability of their efficacy, narrow spectrum or difficulties in long-term storage. Therefore, many people focus on overcoming these issues as a big trend. Suggested solutions include the investigation of synergy between microorganisms, the use of genetic engineering, improving the pesticide life shelf, etc. As a result, biopesticides market has grown by more than 17% over the last decade. In this context and aiming to develop new entomopathogenic fungi–based pest management tools, we constructed a fungal library by isolating insect pathogenic fungi from soil. A total of 581 isolates belonging to 35 species were isolated and characterized. Beauveria bassiana was the most abundant, representing 38.55% of the total strains, followed by Metharizium anisopliae (22.55%) and bubillosa (8.6). …% of the total isolates were highly virulent against Tenebrio molitor killing most of the treated insects in 2 to 3 days.

In this study, we developed 11 microsatellite markers specific to A. crataegi using NGS to investigate the genetic relationships of A. crataegi populations from South Korea to circumferential Asian countries (China, Russia, Mongolia, and Japan). Further, two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene segments (COI and CytB) were sequenced from the samples. The population- and individual-based Principal Coordinates and STRUCTURE analyses collectively suggested that the South Korean population of A. crataegi is most differentiated from the Japanese population, whereas it was closer to Mongolian and Chinese populations. These results collectively suggest that northern populations, in particular, Mongolian populations can be considered as the most genetically compatible one as donee population, when the reintroduction program is launched. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

Inflammation is an important protective response mechanism that occurs against microbial invasion or injury. However, excessive inflammation may lead to cause of morbidity and mortality in diseases. The activated macrophages plays a vital role in inflammatory response by stimulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). This activation further damages the host by inducing certain pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin- 6 (IL-6), TNF-α, inducible nitrous oxide (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2). Flavonoids are bioactive compounds with potential effects as anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities. Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) are unique to citrus plants which are of specific interest owing to their biological effects that includes lipoprotein metabolism and anti-inflammatory activity. Sinensetin is one of the PMFs having five methoxy groups on the basic benzo-γ-pyrone skeleton with a carbonyl group at the C4 position. Sinensetin have been known for exerting various pharmacological activities including anti-angiogenesis, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. However, there are no studies focused on the anti-inflammatory effects of sinensetin on skeletal muscle cells. In the present study, we investigated the antiinflammatory effect of flavonoids isolated from Sinensetin on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators mediated by nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) by inhibition of signal transduction in LPS - induced L6 skeletal muscle cells.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a disorder that is manifested by a sudden decrease of renal function within several hours, and AKI remains a significant cause that can lead to increasing morbidity and mortality. Although AKI has been extensively studies in animal models, translating the results from animal studies into clinical use has not been successful due to various factors including basal etiology of kidney deficiency and comorbidities and the complexity of this pathology. As a golden parameter, measuring serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) has been conventionally used for determining the renal function, however, these biomarkers has been regarded suboptimal to identify renal injuries in early stages. In this study, we attempted to screen other serum biomarkers in early AKI event using cynomolgus monkeys. Two male monkeys, aged 60 months, were subjected to ischemic injury by unilateral clamping of renal pedicles for forty five minutes and then subsequently reperfused; the unclamped kidney was regarded as non-injured controls. Compared with control kidneys, we have found that the concentration of several inflammatory proteins including MCP1, TGFα, GSTα, were higher in the renal vein of injured kidney compared with control side after 24 and 48 hours of AKI. However, changes of serum level of KIM-1, which is one of the most-widely studied marker in rodent studies, were not different after AKI. Our results provide an useful information while developing a novel marker in AKI.

Cymbidium flower is mainly grown for exportation to China and Japan, but detection of a few pests including the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphidae), necessitated post-harvest treatment for casual exportation. Thus, we irradiated electron beam to cotton aphids occurring in cymbidium to establish post-harvest method for casual exportation of the flowers. For cymbidium, six categories of product quality were examined after eight different doses were irradiated (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800 and 1,000 Gy). One thousand Gy to cymbidium caused an extreme deterioration only in vase life in both colors compared to control (0 Gy). In the case of cotton aphids, adult longevity decreased from 11.23 (100 Gy) to 4.70 (400 Gy) when four different doses were irradiated (100, 200, 300, and 400 Gy), with control being an average of 20.89 days. The numbers of total first instar nymph produced per adult was not significantly differed among five doses (2.21 ~ 2.74 individuals), but was substantially lower compared to control (an average of 51.46; P < 0.0001). Live F1 nymphs did not develope to adults at all five doses, except for a single nymph at 100 Gy, which was dead right after emergence. The results of probit analysis indicated that majority of adults required 3.33 ~ 7.55 days for 90% mortality at 200 Gy and higher, but at 100 Gy it required 41.56 days. Therefore, higher than 100 Gy might be required for complete control of adult cotton aphids and their F1.

Bombyx mandarina (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is generally regarded as the ancestor of the domesticated B. mori. Recently, over 40 mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) mainly from B. mori strains preserved in China and wild individuals of B. mandarina were sequenced to verify the progenitor of B. mori. At this point, we also were curious about the origin and the relationships of Korean silkworms to foreign B. mandarina and B. mori. As a first step, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the B. mandarina collected in Korea and compared it to pre-exsiting data (37 strains of B. mori and 14 individuals of B. mandarina). The complete mitogenome of B. mandarina was 15,694-bp long, consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and one non-coding region. The 494-bp long A+T-rich region possessed the highest A/T content (95.3%) than any other region of the genome. Overall, the general mitogenome characteristics of the genus Bombyx species have an identical gene arrangement, similar A/ T content (average 82.3%) and so on. Phylogenetic analysis, however, showed that B. mori and B. mandarina formed a distant group each with the highest nodal support. For more findings of mitogenome characteristics of Bombyx including the Korean B. mandarina and those preserved in Korea more mitogenomes, particularly from Korea, might be needed.

The genus Diadegma is a well-known parasitoid group and some are known to have symbiotic virus so called polydnavirus (PDV, more specifically Ichnovirus, IV). The presence of the IV in the Diadegma species a has already been identified more than a decade ago. Previously we reported a DfIV, 62 genomic segments, 247kb from D. fenestrale which parasitized wide range of lepidopteran species (Generalist). However, DsIV from D. semiclausum which parasitized in the P. xylostella (Specialist) has 48 genomic segments, 208kb. Finally, 123 ORFs were re-annotated (repeat element protein, 41; cysteine motif protein, 11; viral innexin, 6; viral ankyrin, 8; polar residue rich protein, 7; N gene, 3; Neuromodulin protein, 2 and not assigned gene, 45). DsIV also have most of lepidopteran immunosuppression gene families and 103 ORFs annotated (repeat element protein, 36; cysteine motif protein, 8; viral innexin, 7; viral ankyrin, 6; polar residue rich protein, 7; N gene, 3; and not assigned gene, 36). Certainly, although viral species specific segments exists, two IVs showed high similarity in most of segments. However DfIV have some more number of that genes such as cysteine motif protein and viral ankyrin. Two Diadegma species also showed difference in mitochondrial genome structure. Therefore we concluded that two species has their own evolutionary linage depending on the lepidopteran hosts with its own symbiotic virus.

Avermectin produced by Streptomyces avermitilis is an anti-nematodal agent against the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. However, its potential usage is limited by its poor water solubility. For this reason, continuous efforts are underway to produce new derivatives that are more water soluble. Glycosylation is generally used to enhance the aqueous solubility and biological activity of natural compounds. Uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glycosyltransferase (BLC) from Bacillus licheniformis is involved in the biosynthesis of the bioactive compound by transferring UDP-activated sugar moieties to acceptor molecules. Here, the enzymatic glycosylation of avermectin was catalyzed by uridine diphosphate (UDP) glycosyltransferase from Bacillus licheniformis with various UDP-sugars. As a result, the following four avermectin B1a glycosides were produced: avermectin B1a 4’’-β-D-glucoside, avermectin B1a 4’’-β-D-galactoside, avermectin B1a 4’’-β-L-fucoside and avermectin B1a 4’’-β-2-deoxy-D-glucoside. The avermectin B1a glycosides were structurally analyzed based on HR-ESIMS, 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. The solubility of avermectin B1a4’’-β-D-glucoside and avermectin B1a4’’-β-D-galactoside in water are 49 and 21 times higher than that of avermectin B1a. Consistent with the improved water solubility of avermectin glycosides, the anti-nematodal effect of avermectin B1a4’’-β-D-glucoside was found to exhibit the highest activity,which was approximately 32 times greater than that of avermectin B1a, followed by avermectin B1a 4’’-β-2-deoxy-D-glucoside, avermectin B1a 4’’-β-L-fucoside, and avermectin B1a 4’’-β-D-galactoside. These results show that glycosylation of avermectinB1a effectively enhances itsin vitro anti-nematodal activity and that avermectin glycosides can be further applied for treating infestations of the pine wood nematode B. xylophilus.