Particle-in-cell simulations were performed to understand the interaction of the solar wind with localized magnetic fields on the sunlit surface of the Moon. The results indicated a mini-magnetosphere was formed which had a thin magnetopause with the thickness of the electron skin depth. It was also found that the solar wind penetrated into the cavity of the magnetosphere intermittently rather than in a steady manner. The solar wind that moved around the magnetosphere was observed to hit the surface of the Moon, implying that it may be the cause of the lunar swirl formation on the surface.

Riverbank Filtration (RBF) is a kind of indirect artificial recharge method and is useful in obtaining higher-quality source water than surface water when procuring municipal water. This study evaluated optimal riverbank filtered water and the productivity of the radial collector wells on Ttansum Island in the area downstream of the Nakdong River, where Gimhae City is constructing a municipal water plant for the purpose of acquiring high-quality water. The RBF wells are planned to provide water to the citizens of Gimhae City through municipal water works. Groundwater flow modeling was performed with the following four scenarios: (a) 9 radial collector wells, (b) 10 radial collector wells, (c) 10 radial collector wells and two additional vertical wells, and (d) 12 radial collector wells. This study can be useful in determineing the optimum production rate of bank filtrated water not only in this study area but also in other places in Korea.

Mushrooms have been widely cultivated and consumed as foods and herbal medicines owing to their various biological properties. However, few studies have evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of mushrooms. Here, we investigated the effects of mushroom extracts (MEs) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in macrophages (RAW264.7 cells). First, we extracted MEs with either water or ethanol. Using LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells, we measured cell proliferation and NO production. Gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6 (IL-6), and IL-1β was assessed by RT-PCR, and protein abundance of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and phosphorylation of p65 were determined by immunoblotting. MEs prepared using both water and ethanol inhibited LPS-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 cells. Nitric oxide (NO) levels induced by LPS were reduced by treatment with MEs. Isaria japonica Yasuda water extracts and Umbilicaria esculenta (Miyoshi) Minks ethanol extracts significantly decreased the mRNA expression of inflammation-related cytokine genes including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β. Similarly, the protein abundance of iNOS and COX-2 was also decreased. The phosphorylation of p65, a subunit of nuclear factor-κB was at least partly suppressed by MEs. This study suggests that mushrooms could be included in the diet to prevent and treat macrophage-related chronic immune diseases.

We investigate the effect of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inhibitor treatment during parthenogenetic activation of oocytes on the ER stress generation, apoptosis, and in vitro development of parthenogenetic porcine embryos. Porcine in vitro matured oocytes were activated by 1) electric stimulus (E) or 2) E+10 μM Ca-ionophore (A23187) treatment (EC). Oocytes were then treated by ER stress inhibitors such as salubrinal (200 nM) and tauroursodeoxychloic acid (TUDCA, 100 μM) for 3 h prior to in vitro culture. Parthenogenetic embryos were sampled to analyze ER stress and apoptosis at the 1-cell and blastocyst stages. The x-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1) mRNA and ER stress-associated genes were analyzed by RT-PCR or RT-qPCR. Apoptotic gene expression was analyzed by RT-PCR. At the 1-cell stage, although no difference was observed in Xbp1 splicing among treatments, BiP transcription level in the E group was significantly reduced by salubrinal treatment, and GRP94 and ATF4 transcription levels in EC group were significantly reduced by all treatments (p<0.05) compared to control. In the EC group, both apoptotic genes were reduced by ER stress inhibitor treatments compared to control (p<0.05) except Caspase-3 gene by TUDCA treatment. These results suggest that the treatment of ER stress inhibitor during parthenogenetic activation can reduce ER stress, and thereby reduce apoptosis and promote in vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic embryos.

We assessed the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate at four surveying sites in Upo Wetland, a Ramsar site and the largest wetland in Korea, from February 2006 to November 2013. A long-term ecological monitoring was done monthly by using quantitative sampling method with dip net for analyzing the community change and correlation between the biodiversity and the environmental factors because environmental factors have a decisive effect on the community structure of the benthic macroinvertebrates. Total samples from the Upo Wetland area were classified into 3 phyla, 6 classes, 17 orders, 68 families, 176 species, and 25,720 individuals. Among the 176 species, 62 of the species had not been previously reported in this area. Asellus sp., Diplonychus esakii, and Gyraulus chinensis were the most common species in Upo Wetland. The change patterns of annual species diversity and species richness were calculated by using the average number of monthly occurring species and individuals. Diversity index increased from March to May and decreased after that showing lower diversity indices in July and August. It increased again in September and in October. Richness index showed similar tendency and fell around February and July, followed by a rising tendency around May and October. Correlation and regression analyses were performed with the change of biodiversity and each environmental factor. We found that water temperature have very significant positive correlation with species diversity in spring, and have significant indices in autumn and winter. On the other hand, precipitation showed a significantly negative correlation value in summer and autumn suggesting it has an effect on the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates.

The objective of this study is to analyse the dynamic stable and unstable behaviours of a space truss using an accurate solution obtained by the high-order Taylor method. Because numerical solutions can lead to incorrect analyses in the case of a space truss model due to the being parameters large, we analyse the solution’s behaviour using essentially an analytical solution obtained by the multi-step high-order Taylor method. In detail, the dynamic instability and buckling characteristics of the SDOF model under step, sinusoidal and beating excitations are investigated.

A package of space science instruments, dubbed the Instruments for the Study of Space Storms (ISSS), is proposed for the Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1), which is scheduled for launch in May 2016. This paper describes the instrument designs and science missions of the ISSS. The ISSS configuration in NEXTSat-1 is as follows: the space radiation monitoring instruments consist of medium energy particle detector (MEPD) and high energy particle detector (HEPD); the space plasma instruments consist of a Langmuir probe (LP), a retarding potential analyzer (RPA), and an ion drift meter (IDM). The space radiation monitoring instruments (MEPD and HEPD) measure electrons and protons in parallel and perpendicular directions to the geomagnetic field in the sub-auroral region, and they have a minimum time resolution of 50 msec for locating the region of the particle interactions with whistler mode waves and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The MEPD measures electrons and protons with energies of tens of keV to ~400 keV, and the HEPD measures electrons with energies of ~100 keV to > ~1 MeV and protons with energies of ~10 MeV. The space plasma instruments (LP, RPA, and IDM) observe irregularities in the low altitude ionosphere, and the results will be compared with the scintillations of the GPS signals. In particular, the LP is designed to have a sampling rate of 50 Hz in order to detect these small-scale irregularities.

The objectives of present study were to characterize the peptides which were isolated from Korean fermented soybean paste, chungkukjang, and to determine their antioxidant activities. Four fractions were collected from the methanol extract of chungkukjang by using a recycling preparative HPLC. Among fractions, Fr-2 was identified to be highly potent free radical scavenging activity in the assay of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and nitroblue tetrazolium(NBT)-reduction inhibition. Base on antioxidant effects, fraction Fr-2 was employed for the refraction with a prep-column and separated into five fractions of which two fractions were identified to have higher antioxidant activity. To confirm the amino acid constituents of antioxidant fractions Fr-2-2 and Fr-2-3 were analyzed, and eight kinds of amino acids such as aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, histidine, and arginine were identified as the constituent amino acids. Antioxidant activities of the separated peptides were further assessed cell viability with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl terazolium bromide (MTT), and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis of H4IIE cells treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Chungkukjang peptides have shown their ability to protect H4IIE rat hepatoma cells against H2O2- induced oxidative stress by concentration and time-dependent manner. Therefore, These results indicated that fermented soybean paste chungkukjang will be promoted the antioxidant and radical scavenging activities, and beneficial for health. The antioxidant peptide fractions Fr-2-2 and Fr-2-3 were denominated as P-NICS-1 and P-NICS-2, respectively. However, further studies were required to clarify their amino acid sequences and molecular properties, and physiological significances.