Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 influence regional climate change by scattering and absorbing solar radiation. Recent attention has focused on the long-range transport of OC and EC to high-altitude regions due to their potential role in accelerating spring snowmelt. Although subalpine and alpine areas account for only about 1% of South Korea, these high-elevation zones are highly vulnerable to climate change and provide important insights into how ecosystems may respond and adapt in the future. We collected 29 PM2.5 samples near Nogodan Peak (1,440 m a.s.l.) in Jirisan National Park and 10 samples at Seoul National University (91 m a.s.l.) between March 2022 and April 2024 to quantify OC and EC concentrations. The mean concentrations and standard deviations of OC and EC were 2.0±1.4 and 0.2±0.1 μg m-3 in Jirisan, and 3.6±0.9 and 0.3±0.2 μg m-3 in Seoul, respectively. These concentrations are lower than previously reported values across ~20 sites in South Korea, likely due to the national reduction in PM2.5 during the study period. Given these lower concentrations, the effect of EC on snowmelt might have been small in Jirisan. High OC/EC ratios (Jirisan: 22.1; Seoul: 12.5) may reflect biomass burning or the formation of secondary organic aerosols. As biomass burning is projected to increase under future climate scenarios and may alter the source and composition of carbonaceous aerosols, long-term research is essential to better understand their potential impacts on high-altitude ecosystems.

The limitation of markers for chronic oral diseases such as oral lichen planus (OLP) and burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. The pathogenesis of OLP and BMS is not yet fully understood. Therefore, diagnoses are mainly based on the observation of clinical features and history, rather than established markers. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are used to determine the state of inflammation; however, these markers have some limitations. Recently, a new inflammatory marker, pentraxin-3 (PTX3), has been identified in other systemic inflammatory diseases. PTX3 is a member of the pentraxin family and is classified as a long pentraxin. PTX3 is found in various human tissues, whereas the classical short pentraxin, CRP, is secreted only in the liver. PTX3 is a marker of autoimmune diseases and periodontitis. However, there are no studies on PTX3 in OLP and BMS; therefore, we sought to determine if PTX3 can be a diagnostic marker for OLP and BMS. PTX3 was found to be correlated with other inflammatory markers, suggesting its diagnostic value for inflammatory oral diseases. We also found that the PTX3 levels were lower in patients with OLP and BMS. ESR levels were elevated in the OLP and BMS groups, but CRP levels were not. Despite these associations, no correlation was found between PTX3 expression and other known clinical features of OLP and BMS. We suggest that PTX3 plays a role in the immunological and neurological pathways involved in the complex pathogenesis of OLP and BMS.