Humic acids (HA), with their irregular polymeric structures and largely existing in grassland, present challenges in quality control due to significant variations in biological activities depending on extraction sources. To address this, we explored industrial byproducts as potential alternatives mimicking HA-like bioactivities. This study evaluates sulfite lignin, a byproduct of the pulp industry, as an eco-friendly biostimulant for enhancing plant growth and stress tolerance. Sulfite lignin demonstrated HA-like bioactivities, promoting seed germination and salt stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Germination assays revealed that sulfite lignin significantly improved radicle and cotyledon emergence, particularly at low concentrations (8.6 mg L⁻¹), outperforming HA and kraft lignin. Additionally, under salt stress conditions, sulfite lignin-treated plants exhibited healthier phenotypes and maintained higher chlorophyll content compared to control treatments, similar to HA and kraft lignin. The findings highlight sulfite lignin as a promising, sustainable, and cost-effective biofertilizer, effectively replicating HA's biological functions while leveraging industrial byproducts.

This study analyzes the impact of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) activities on Corporate Financial Performance(CFP) using machine learning techniques. To address the linear limitations of traditional multiple regression analysis, the study employs AutoML (Automated Machine Learning) to capture the nonlinear relationships between ESG activities and CFP. The dataset consists of 635 companies listed on KOSPI and KOSDAQ from 2013 to 2021, with Tobin's Q used as the dependent variable representing CFP. The results show that machine learning models outperformed traditional regression models in predicting firm value. In particular, the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model exhibited the best predictive performance. Among ESG activities, the Social (S) indicator had a positive effect on CFP, suggesting that corporate social responsibility enhances corporate reputation and trust, leading to long-term positive outcomes. In contrast, the Environmental (E) and Governance (G) indicators had negative effects in the short term, likely due to factors such as the initial costs associated with environmental investments or governance improvements. Using the SHAP (Shapley Additive exPlanations) technique to evaluate the importance of each variable, it was found that Return on Assets (ROA), firm size (SIZE), and foreign ownership (FOR) were key factors influencing CFP. ROA and foreign ownership had positive effects on firm value, while major shareholder ownership (MASR) showed a negative impact. This study differentiates itself from previous research by analyzing the nonlinear effects of ESG activities on CFP and presents a more accurate and interpretable prediction model by incorporating machine learning and XAI (Explainable AI) techniques.

This study investigates the role of the NAC transcription factor ANAC032 in regulating abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent stress responses and its involvement in sugar signaling pathways. Arabidopsis seedlings with overexpressed or knock-out ANAC032 were examined for their sensitivity to ABA, glucose, and fluridone to elucidate the functional role of ANAC032 in ABA and high glucose-mediated growth retardation. Our results showed that ANAC032 negatively regulates ABA responses, as ANAC-overexpressing plants exhibited higher ABA sensitivity, while anac032 mutants were less sensitive. Under high glucose conditions, anac032 mutants demonstrated hyposensitivity, with germination rates higher than wild-type and ANAC032-overexpressing plants. Additionally, yeast two-hybrid screening identified three NAC proteins, ANAC020, ANAC064, and ANAC074, interact with ANAC032. These findings highlight ANAC032’s role in stress signaling pathways and its potential interactions with other NAC proteins, contributing to a better understanding of transcriptional regulation in plant stress responses and possibly expanding to forage crop development.

Background: Treadmill training is an effective intervention method for improving the walking ability of stroke patients, and taping is effective for stabilizing joints. However, taping interventions have not been implemented during treadmill training. Objectives: To examine whether treadmill training with an elastic tape or treadmill training with a non-elastic tape could be more effective in stroke patients. Design: A single blinded, randomized, controlled, comparative study. Methods: 22 stroke patients were randomly allocated to two groups: the elastic group (treadmill gait training with ankle elastic tape on the paretic side) or the non-elastic group (treadmill gait training with non-elastic tape on the paretic side). All participants performed 60 min of comprehensive rehabilitation therapy and treadmill training with an elastic tape or non-elastic tape for 20 min. Results: 10-meter walk test and timed up-and-go test results after training differed significantly from baseline in both groups (P<.05), but significantly larger gains were observed in the elastic group (10-meter walk test, -17.1%; timed up-and-go test, -18.49%; P<.05, respectively). Conclusion: Treadmill gait training with elastic tape on the affected ankle joint might be more effective at improving the walking and balancing abilities of stroke patients.

In 2020, severe defoliation was reported in Abies holophylla plantations located in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do. This damage was attributed to an outbreak of an unidentified sawfly species from the genus Cephalcia (Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae). The larvae of this sawfly caused significant defoliation of the leaves. This pest has been identified as Cephalcia koreana Park & Jung, sp. nov., described as a new species in 2023. To investigate the occurrence pattern and density of C. koreana, we set up emergence traps and analyzed samples from affected branches. Our results showed that the density peaks for adults, eggs, and larvae were in mid-May, late May, and early June of 2021, respectively. However, their density decreased sharply after a notably cold spring period in 2022. Here, I aim to discuss the outbreaks of insect pests and their population dynamics.

본 연구의 목적은 청소년의 사회재난에 대해 안전하다는 인식이 학교생활 만족도에 미치는 영향에 있어 우울과 스마트폰 의존의 순차적 매개효과를 검증하는 것이다. 이를 위해 <한국아동·청소년패널 2018> 자료 중 중1패널 3차년도 자료를 활용하였고, Hayes(2013)의 SPSS PROCESS MACRO Model 6를 활용하여 순차적 매개효과 분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 청소년의 사회재난 인식은 학교생활 만족도에 직접적으로 영향을 미치지 않았다. 둘째, 청소년의 사회재난 인식 과 학교생활 만족도와의 관계에서 우울과 스마트폰 의존의 매개효과가 각각 유의미했다. 셋째, 청소년 의 사회재난 인식과 학교생활 만족도와의 관계에서 우울과 스마트폰 의존의 순차적 매개효과가 나타났 다. 요컨대, 사회재난으로부터 안전하다는 인식을 가진 청소년들일수록 우울 수준이 낮았고, 이들은 스마트폰 의존이 낮았으며, 결과적으로 학교생활에 대한 만족도가 높았다. 본 연구는 이 같은 연구결과 를 바탕으로 청소년의 사회재난 안전 인식을 증대하고 학교생활 만족도를 높일 수 있는 정책적·실천적 제언을 하였다.

In determining artwork prices, the identification of characteristics of the artist is crucial. While the impact of demographic profiles of artists has been examined in the literature on art pricing, the relationships among artists have been highly disregarded. In the current research, the authors focus on the measures of network centrality derived from group exhibitions in order to investigate their influence on artwork prices. The analysis results suggest that degree centrality and closeness centrality positively affect artwork prices, whereas betweenness centrality has an adverse effect. Moreover, network centrality values play a more important role in explaining artwork prices than historical reputation indexes such as gender, nationality, time elapsed after death, and main residencies of the artists. This study contributes to branding literature, while also providing art marketers with valuable insight into artist branding.

Forage crop management is severely challenged by global warming-induced climate changes representing diverse a/biotic stresses. Thus, screening of valuable genetic resources would be applied to develop stress-tolerant forage crops. We isolated two NAC (NAM, ATAF1, ATAF2, CUC2) transcription factors (ANAC032 and ANAC083) transcriptionally activated by multi-abiotic stresses (salt, drought, and cold stresses) from Arabidopsis by microarray analysis. The NAC family is one of the most prominent transcription factor families in plants and functions in various biological processes. The enhanced expressions of two ANACs by multi-abiotic stresses were validated by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. We also confirmed that both ANACs were localized in the nucleus, suggesting that ANAC032 and ANAC083 act as transcription factors to regulate the expression of downstream target genes. Promoter activities of ANAC032 and ANAC083 through histochemical GUS staining again suggested that various abiotic stresses strongly drive both ANACs expressions. Our data suggest that ANAC032 and ANAC083 would be valuable genetic candidates for breeding multi-abiotic stress-tolerant forage crops via the genetic modification of a single gene.

To enhance the effectiveness of the FMS (flexible manufacturing system), it is necessary for the manufacturing control system to be upgraded by integrating the cyber and the physical manufacturing systems. Using the CPPS (Cyber-Physical Production System) concept, this study proposes a 4-stage vertical integration and control framework for an aircraft parts manufacturing plant. In the proposed framework, the process controller prepares the operations schedule for processing work orders generated from the APS (advanced planning & scheduling) system. The scheduled operations and the related control commands are assigned to equipments by the dispatcher of the line controller. The line monitor is responsible for monitoring the overall status of the FMS including work orders and equipments. Finally the process monitor uses the simulation model to check the performance of the production plan using real time plant status data. The W-FMCS (Wing rib-Flexible Manufacturing Control & Simulation) are developed to implement the proposed 4-stage CPPS based FMS control architecture. The effectiveness of the proposed control architecture is examined by the real plant’s operational data such as utilization and throughput. The performance improvement examined shows the usefulness of the framework in managing the smart factory’s operation by providing a practical approach to integrate cyber and physical production systems.