This paper examines a simple one-step and catalyst-free method for synthesizing carbon nanoparticles from aliphatic alcohols and n-hexane with linear molecule formations by using a stable solution plasma process with a bipolar pulse and an external resistor. When the external resistor is adopted, it is observed that the current spikes are dramatically decreased, which induced production of a more stable discharge. Six aliphatic linear alcohols (methanol- hexanol) containing carbon with oxygen sources are studied as possible precursors for the massive production of carbon nanoparticles. Additional study is also carried out with the use of n-hexane containing many carbons without an oxygen source in order to enhance the formation of carbon nanoparticles and to eliminate unwanted oxygen effects. The obtained carbon nanoparticles are characterized with field emission-scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that with increasing carbon ratios in alcohol content, the synthesis rate of carbon nanoparticles is increased, whereas the size of the carbon nanoparticles is decreased. Moreover, the degree of graphitization of the carbon nanoparticles synthesized from 1-hexanol and n-hexane with a high carbon (C)/oxygen (O) ratio and low or no oxygen is observed to be greater than that of the carbon nanoparticles synthesized from the corresponding materials with a low C/O ratio.

붉은불개미는 세계 100대 침입외래 해충 중의 하나로 우리나라에서는 관리 해충으로 1996년도에 지정되었다. 2017년 9월28일 부산항 감만 부두에서 국내 최초로 발견된 후, 2018년에 부산항, 평택항 과 인천항에서 발견이 되었고, 9월18일에 대구의 아파트 공사장에서 내륙에서는 처음으로 발견이 되었다. 대구에서 발견된 붉은불개미도 아파트 건설을 위하여 중국에서 수입한 석재에 혼합되어 수입된 토양과 식물체와 같이 혼입된 것으로 추측이 된다. 그러므로, 현재까지 국내에서 붉은불개미가 번식을 하여 토착화되었다는 증거는 없다. 현재까지 붉은불개미에 대한 종 판명은 전문가에 의한 형태적인 분류가 대부분이다. 그래서, 붉은불개미에 대한 확증을 위해서는 채집된 개체를 검역기관으로 이송하여 분자진단을 실시해야 하므로, 최소 이틀의 시간이 필요하다. 현재 항원항체 반응을 이용한 붉은불개미 진단 키트가 해외에서 개발되어 판매되고 있지만, 낮은 민감도로 최소 3~5개의 충체가 필요한 실정이다. 현재 판매되고 있는 진단키트가 가지는 문제점은 이를 대신할 새로운 키트의 개발이 필요함을 보여주고 있다. 신속한 붉은불개미의 검역현장에서 진단을 가능하게하기 위한 노력 중의 하나로 우리는 붉은불개미의 복부에서 발현되는 유전체에 대한 연구를 수행하였다. 본 발표에서는 그에 대한 현재까지의 연구 진행과 결과를 설명하도록 하겠다. (본 연구는 농림축산 검역본부의 연구비 지원으로 이루어졌음).

The citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa is one of the invasive insect species in South Korea. M. pruinosa is a broad polyphage damaging over 200 plant species including ginseng, although there is a difference in preference. We selected six insecticides that showed high mortality in ginseng field such as emamectin benzoate EC, sulfoxaflor SG, etofenprox EW, cypermethrin EC, thiacloprid SC and pyrifluquinazon SG. In addition, a method to attract and kill M. pruinosa by treating pesticides on attractive plants (e.g., corn, perilla) with high preference was also tested. The control effect varied from 10 to 80% depending on the distance between forest and farmland. These methods can be used for the control of M. pruinosa in the ginseng farm when the PLS (Positive List System) is fully implemented in 2019.

Gonggeom-ji is designated wetland protected area by the Ministry of Environment of Korea in 2011 because of it’s high biodiversity and historic value. It contains a reservoir, paddy and forest site which has diverse niches for insects. Three transect lines of 50m were designated. Data were collected in May, October, November in 2017 represented as seasons for spring, summer and autumn respectively. Quantitative methods were conducted along each transect line by sweeping and pitfall trap. Based on this study total of 1079 individuals of insect fauna were collected, representing 170 species in 60 families and 8 orders. The highest diversity, richness and evenness index were observed in the forest site in May(4.77, 8.6 and 0.91 respectively) and the highest dominance index was observed in the forest site in November(0.64). The highest similarity index was observed in the reservoir site in May and August(0.519).

Hermetia illucens is one of many of solider flies and the species was decomposing ability to food waste, livestock feces and so on. Specially, the study was conducted to investigated of artificial feeding using the livestock feces, because of easy to get and see in a rural areas. But, comparing food waste with livestock feces, the growth character of H. illucens was generally small size and the growth period is longer than feeding food waste. In order this problem, the experiment was performed by mixing sugar 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% , which can accelerate the degradation of the pig and cattle feces during the 0, 3, 5, 7 days. As a result, when the width and length of H. illucens were compared by sugar mixing and fermentation period, they was no significant difference. Decomposing ability of a larvae were 0.44g with cattle feces+sugar 5% than 20% and were 0.64g with pig feces+sugar 20% than 5%.

To identify the venom components and their expression patterns of some Aculeata bees/wasps, venom gland-specific transcriptome analysis was conducted. FPKM values were normalized with the average of the transcription level of reference gene (a-tubulin). Common components in both solitary and social wasp venoms include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, metalloendopeptidase, etc. Although it has been expected that more diverse bioactive components with the functions of prey inactivation and physiology manipulation are present in solitary wasps, the information on venom compositions of solitary wasps obtained in this study was not sufficient to generalizae this notion. Nevertheless, some neurotoxic peptides (e.g., pompilidotoxin and dendrotoxin-like peptide) and proteins (e.g., insuline-like peptide binding protein) appear to be specific to solitary wasp venom. In contrast, several proteins, such as venom allergen 5 protein, venom acid phosphatase, and various phospholipases, appear to be relatively more abundant in social wasp venom. In the venom gland trancsriptome of bumblebees, major allergens or pain producing factors were barely identified, implying that bumblebee venoms are relatively less toxic than those of social or solitary wasps.

상주는 귀농 도시이자 농업 중심 도시로써 농업기술원을 유치할 만큼 생태학적 연구가치가 있는 친환경 도시이다. 특히 경천섬은 낙동강 본류에 있는 상주보 인근에 위치하고 있어 낙동강 생태 환경 연구의 중요 지역 중 하나이다. 하지만, 아직 경천섬에 대한 생물다양성 연구가 부족한 상태이다. 섬과 산지의 생태환경이 다르기 때문에 생물의 다양성도 다를 것이라 간주하고, 경천섬 주변의 생태학적 가치를 재조명할 기초자료를 조사하고자 한다. 이에 경천섬과 인근에 위치한 청룡사 길목 산지에 서식하는 곤충 채집을 통해 생물다양성을 조사하여 비교분석하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 채집방법은 직접잡기, 쓸어잡기, 함정트랩, 흡충관을 이용하였으며, 함정트랩에 사용된 유인제는 소주1.8ℓ와 빙초산350㎖를 혼합하여 사용하였다. 2018년 4월~8월 중 3회 채집과정을 수행하여 목표개체수를 확보하였고, 채집된 곤충은 에탄올을 채운 conical tube에 넣어 냉동실에 보관하여 보존성을 높였다. 채집과정에서 잡은 곤충들을 건조시키고 유사종끼리 분류하고 동정하는 과정을 거쳐 다양도지수, 우점도지수, 종풍부도지수, 종균등도지수, 유사도지수를 계산할 것이다. 기존에 알려지지 않았던 경천섬 일대의 생물다양성을 세세하게 분석하는 과정을 통해 경천섬의 생태학적 가치를 드러내고, 경천섬 일대의 자연환경관리와 보존에 필요한 정보나 체계적인 관리체계를 구축할 기초자료를 제공하고자 한다.

Japanese pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is considered as a serious pest in pine trees. To develop an eco-friendly strategy to manage this forest insect, we collected entomopathogenic fungi from Korean soil and assessed their virulence against the adults of the insect in laboratory conditions. As a result, two isolates with conidial suspension (1.0×107conidia/ml), showed 87% and 90% mortality 12 days after fungal treatment, respectively. We assessed the potential of the fungi-derived destruxin and protease as additives to the fungal isolates, and they showed insecticidal activity via feeding and spraying treatments. Finally, we produced fungal conidia in massive solid cultures and formulated wettable powders, and now studying optimal conditions of oil-based formulation with two isolates. Based on these results, we are evaluating the control efficacy of the fungal agents against M. alternatus in field conditions.

Acinetospora asiatica and Botrytella reinboldii are reported as two new records from S. Korea based on morphological studies and molecular analyses. A. asiatica is mainly characterized by the presence of sparsely branched uniseriate filaments with diffused meristematic zones, the formation of crampons at right angles, and the formation of plurilocular sporangia on both prostrate and erect filaments. B. reinboldii is characterized by the presence of irregularly alternating branched uniseriate filaments attached by rhizoids, and single or clustered plurilocular sporangia with a single opening. Molecular analyses of rbcL gene revealed that A. asiatica and B. reinboldii are placed within each clade of Acinetospora and Botrytella, respectively.

Humic substances that can be obtained from coal resources such as leonardite in a bulk scale have been employed as crop stimulators and soil conditioners. The polymeric organics containing a variety of aromatic and aliphatic structures are known to activate plants in a multifunctional way, thus resulting in enhanced germination rate and abiotic stress resistance concomitant with induction of numerous genes and proteins. Although detailed structural-functional relationship of humic substances for plant stimulations has not been deciphered yet, cutting-edge analytical tools have unraveled critical features of humic architectures that could be linked to the action mechanisms of their plant stimulations. In this review article, we introduce key findings of humic structures and related biological functions that boost plant growth and abiotic stress resistance. Oxygen-based functional groups and plant hormone-like structures combined with labile and recalcitrant carbon backbones are believed to be critical moieties to induce plant stimulations. Some proteins such as HIGH-AFFINITY K+ TRANSPORTER 1, phospholipase A2 and H+-ATPase have been also recognized as key players that could be critically involved in humic substance-driven changes in plant physiology.

Introduction Existing studies have revealed various value systems’ relationship to consumer behavior. The factors that have been shown to explain consumer behavior include basic values (e.g., Rindfleisch, Burroughs, & Wong, 2009), consumer worldview (e.g., Saatcioglu & Ozanne, 2013), the dominant ideology of society (e.g., Juhl, Fenger, & Thøgersen, 2017), and political ideology (e.g., Jung, Garbarino, Briley, & Wynhausen, 2017). In this study, we attempted to identify a new, overarching construct that captures individuals’ socioeconomic worldview and then to investigate its impact on consumer behavior. In doing so, we developed a neoliberalism scale and investigated how it relates to consumption-related factors. This neoliberalism construct encompasses individuals’ perspectives on various dimensions, including profit centrism, government intervention, welfare, and self-development. Theoretical development Neoliberalism, as used in this construct, is defined as one’s tendency to support economic liberalizations (e.g., free trade, open markets, financial liberalization, deregulation, globalism, privatization, and private-sector enhancement) and the government’s powerful ruling and legal enforcement to reinforce them even at the expense of significant demographic processes. However, neoliberal individuals otherwise tend to consider the government and political system to be much less efficient and much more oppressive than the competitive market and private sector are. Additionally, they strive to manage everyday life strategically, as if they were innovative entrepreneurs. These individuals believe that one’s success largely depends on his or her own merits and efforts, and thus that inequality or unequal compensation is inevitable in order to achieve efficiency, economic growth, and moral justice (e.g., Peck & Tickell, 2007; Steger & Roy, 2010). Methods We distributed our survey to 374 adults (187 female) who are recruited through a market research firm’s online panel in Korea. Participants’ education levels were as follows: those who have only graduated from high school or have yet to graduate from high school = 20.9%, those who are current college students or have graduated from college = 66%, post-college graduates = 13.1%. Based on the literature on neoliberalism, we generated 54 items to measure neoliberalism tendencies. We initially created 12 dimensions, each of which included between four and six items. The dimensions included belief in economic growth, opposition to government intervention, belief in the inefficiency of the government, opposition to labor unions, opposition to policies that favor the majority, hostility toward social welfare, belief in the need to protect private property, support for globalization, interest in time management, elitism, interest in self-development, and interest in wealth management. We adapted our measures from existing scales, except for perceived social mobility and perceived social inequality, which were measures that we created. We measured long-term orientation (Bearden, Money, & Nevins, 2006), the perceived importance of achievement (Burroughs & Rindfleish, 2002), community values (Burroughs & Rindfleisch, 2002), political cynicism (Kaid, 2002), political liberalism (Mehrabian, 1996), life values (Schwartz, 1992), materialism (Richins, 2004), consumer values (Sánchez-Fernández, Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo, & Holbrook, 2009) and impulsive buying behavior (Rook & Fisher, 1995). Results Using the data from 374 respondents, we conducted an exploratory-factor analysis to examine the factor structure of our neoliberalism scale. The exploratory-factor analysis used a principle-component method with direct oblimin rotation, and the criterion of eigenvalue greater than 1.00 generated an 11-factor solution. This factor solution accounted for 59.83% of the total variance. This study employed the following three criteria to retain factors and items: (a) items with factor loading greater than .4, (b) factors with at least three items, and (c) items that do not cross load on the other factors. The results yielded 32 items that comprise seven factors: interest in economic development, hostility toward welfare, interest in wealth management, distrust in government ability, opposition to labor unions, support for the protection of private property, and interest in self-development. We ran an another exploratory-factor analysis using the same methods and items as before, which confirmed that those items loaded well for the seven factors, explaining 59.37% of the total variance. Each factor—hostility toward welfare, interest in self-development, distrust in government ability, interest in economic development, opposition to labor unions, interest in wealth management, and support for the protection of private property—was found to account for 24.08%, 14.11%, 5.12%, 5.01%, 4.27%, 3.40%, and 3.30% of the total variance, respectively. Additionally, the reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of each factor was as follows: hostility toward welfare = .87, interest in self-development = .83, distrust in government ability= .62, interest in economic development = .68, opposition to labor unions = .76, interest in wealth management = .75, and support for the protection of private property = .67. Finally, we created the neoliberalism index by averaging these seven factors. There was a significant difference in how survey participants responded to the five factors of the neoliberalism construct used in this study—namely, interest in economic development, interest in self-development, opposition to labor unions, hostility toward welfare, and support for the protection of private property. In general, support for those five factors tended to increase with the age of the individual, such that participants over 50 years old appeared to place the most emphasis on the importance of economic development, self-development, and the need to protect private property, while showing more unfavorable attitudes toward labor unions and government welfare policies compared to younger age groups. Overall, neoliberalism index, which is the average of all seven factors, also demonstrated similar patterns. People seem to agree more with neoliberal values as they age. We examined the correlation between the neoliberalism index and related measures such as perceived social inequality, perceived social mobility, and long-term orientation. Our data revealed a significant and positive correlation between neoliberalism and perceived social mobility (r (372) = .35, p < .01), and neoliberalism and perceived social inequality (r (372) = .23, p < .01). Neoliberal individuals are likely to perceive the society to which they belong as relatively equal and to believe that they can achieve a satisfactory social status as long as they strive to do so. This tendency is well explained by the significant correlation between neoliberalism and long-term orientation (r (372) = .47, p < .01), that of neoliberalism and the perceived importance of achievement (r (372) = .39, p < .01). Neoliberal individuals’ positive attitudes toward their future status appear to encourage them to work diligently for their future achievements and to improve their status. In contrast, a significant correlation with political cynicism (r (372) = .27, p < .01) indicates neoliberal individuals’ distrust in government. It can be also inferred that neoliberal individuals are politically conservative, given that neoliberalism is negatively correlated to political liberalism (r (372) = -.29, p < .01). Finally, this index is positively correlated to community values (r (372) = .32, p < .01). Furthermore, our neoliberalism index was correlated with Schwartz’s general life values (Schwartz, 1992), including efforts toward self-enhancement (r (372) = .41, p < .01), openness to change (r (372) = .28, p < .01), efforts toward self-transcendence (r (372) = .32, p < .01), and interest in conservation (r (372) = .45, p < .01). Highly neoliberal individuals may strive to develop themselves, seek interesting and stimulating experiences on their own, tend to be altruistic, and conform to what has been established. Given that politically conservative individuals have been considered to be less altruistic and less open to change, the current results, which contradict prior assumptions, seem to indicate that neoliberalism is very different from conservatism. Our data indicated that there is a significant correlation between neoliberalism and the five dimensions of consumer values—namely, efficiency (r (372) = .26, p < .01), quality (r (372) = .37, p < .01), social values (r = .30, p < .01), play (r = .27, p < .01), aesthetics (r = .32, p < .01), and materialism (r = .16, p < .01). Individuals with neoliberal views are likely to consider various factors prudently in choosing products and proper places to shop. What matters to them in their consumption would be satisfactory shopping experiences as a whole rather than just the quality of the products for which they shop. It is interesting to note that highly neoliberal individuals are likely to value possessions. Given the significant correlation between neoliberalism, social mobility, and inequality, neoliberal individuals may believe that they can be like others who achieve a better status than they have and perceive that having more possessions is an efficient tool for acquiring a higher social status. Impulsive buying behavior was not significantly correlated with neoliberalism. Self-development, one of the seven dimensions of this neoliberalism construct, is closely linked to an emphasis on efficient time management and self-control. Neoliberal individuals are likely to be more thorough and careful in their decision-making and consumption behavior. Thus, it is not surprising to observe an insignificant relationship with impulsive buying behavior. Discussion We attempted to determine if individuals’ worldview could explain consumption-related phenomenon such as the extent to which they value possessions. The data supported the prediction that neoliberalism is closely linked not only to basic human values (Schwartz, 1992), but also to consumption phenomena, including materialism (Richins, 2004) and consumer values (e.g., Sánchez-Fernández, Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo, & Holbrook, 2009). Although we were unable to make clear casual inferences from correlational findings, our results shed light on future research in the field of materialism and other consumerbehavior phenomenon using this neoliberalism construct. Experimental manipulation of neoliberal tendencies would generate more intriguing results.