Entomopathogenic fungi serve as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. In this study, we investigate the interactions between mosquitoes and Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-157, which showed high insecticidal activity against mosquitoes, by RNA-seq analysis. RNA from mosquitoes was extracted at the median lethal time to identify changes in gene expression. The results showed 580 genes were up-regulated, while 336 genes were down-regulated in fungal treated mosquitoes. Up-regulated genes were related to metabolic and cellular processes such as cytochrome P450, DNA replication, and apoptosis. Down-regulated genes were involved in metabolism pathways such as lysosome, starch and sucrose metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis. These results are crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of fungal invasion and interaction in insects, providing insights for future pest management strategies.

Entomopathogenic fungi have been studied to control insect pests as an alternative to chemical insecticides. However, all fungi haven't a high virulence against pests. In this study, we compared the biological characteristics of Metarhizium anisopliae strains. First, we selected four M. anisopliae strains and compared the thermotolerance, conidial productivity, and virulence. For the thermotolerance test, conidial suspensions were exposed to 0, 30, 60, and 90 min at 45 °C. As a result, the conidial germination rates were over 95% when exposed for 0 min but, were 64, 37.7, 6, and 3% when exposed for 30 min at 45°C, respectively. To compare conidial productivity, 200g of millet were used and inoculated with a conidial suspension of 1 ml (1×107 conidia/ml). Conidial productivity was investigated after 14 days. As a result of conducting a virulence test against mealworms using a spray method, differences in virulence between strains were confirmed.

Climate change has led to increased insect pests and pest distribution changes. Traditionally, chemical control using synthetic pesticides has been the main method for pest management, but the emergence of pesticide-resistant pests has become a problem. There is a need to develop new pest control agents to overcome these issues. Entomopathogenic fungi used in pest management have minimal environmental side effects and possess a mechanism of action distinct from that of synthetic pesticides. However, there is a need for the development of technologies to maximize the insecticidal effects of fungi against pests, and expressing and releasing dsRNA within the fungi can preemptively knock out the activation of the insect’s defense system, thereby enhancing the insecticidal effect. Controlling insect defense genes and using entomopathogenic fungi as bio-carriers forms a new pest management strategy. This approach, described as a “microbial insecticide agents development strategy of cassette concept, ” can versatilely modify genes and microbes. It is expected to overcome the limitations of synthetic pesticides.

In this study, we examined the antagonistic effects of sprout-borne lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. This antagonism is promoted as a means of controlling contamination during sprout production and provides additional LAB for consumers. We isolated a total of 24 LAB isolates in nine species and five genera from seven popular vegetable sprouts: alfalfa (Medicago sativa), clover (Trifolium pratense), broccoli (Brassica oleracea ssp. italica), vitamin (B. rapa ssp. narinosa), red radish (Raphanus sativus), red kohlrabi (B. oleracea var. gongylodes), and Kimchi cabbage (B. campestris var. pekinensis). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, the LAB species were identified as Enterococcus casseliflavus, E. faecium, E. gallinarum, E. mundtii, Lactococcus taiwanensis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria, and W. confusa. A total of 16 LAB isolates in seven species including E. faecium, E. gallinarum, E. mundtii, L. taiwanensis, L. mesenteroides, P. pentosaceus, and W. cibaria showed antagonistic activity toward S. enterica. The growth inhibition of sprout LAB on S. enterica was confirmed by co-culture. Unexpectedly, sprout LAB failed to suppress the growth of S. enterica in alfalfa sprouts, whereas all LAB strains stimulate S. enterica growth even if it is not significant in some strains. The findings of this study indicate that S. enterica-antagonistic LAB are detrimental to food hygiene and will contribute to further LAB research and improved vegetable sprout production.

To attenuate and control the spread of infectious disease, a body of research has been conducted to generate safe vaccines and to continue national-level surveillance. However, understanding on viability and persistence of avian influenza virus (AIV) in infected carcasses, and effective disposal approaches are still limited up to date. Here, using HA test and RT-PCR, we assessed active status of AIV and degradation of viral RNA in collected specimens at different sites and time points. First, AIV infectivity was recovered until day 2, and viral nucleic acids persisted to day 14 and 21 in inorganic and organic samples, respectively, in sealed vials incubated at room temperature. Second, AIV was totally inactivated in all examined specimens, and viral RNA was not detectable at all time points tested at least one month post-infection in AIV-inoculated carcasses buried directly in soil or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) bin. Lastly, among different burial sites in South Korea, 6 out of 17 sampling sites in Jeonbuk province showed the presence of viral genetic materials, while the rest of the field samples displayed neither the presence of infective AIV nor detectable viral RNA. This study showed a linear relation between time and degradation degree of viral RNA in buried samples suggesting that burial disposal method is effective for the control or at least attenuation of spread of AI infection in infected animals although consistent monitoring is required to verify safety of disposal.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is decisive in eliminating affected cells in human cancers, whereas there are increasing cases of cancer-related death due to side effects of modern treatment methods. There is an urge for new methods of growth inhibition and elimination of cancer cells with a lower cytotoxicity to normal cells. Irregularity along PCD pathways plays a crucial role in cancer cell carcinogenesis. Apoptosis is a distinct cell death mechanism occurring in multicellular organisms and also called type one programmed cell death. Autophagy and paraptosis are non-apoptotic PCD occurring in multicellular organisms. Natural compounds are the fundament of pharmacological treatments, and flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds which are unique due to their diverse chemical structures and various biological active mechanisms like anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and much more. This gives an increasing number of studies indicating that some flavonoids from medicinal plants could be promising candidates for new natural anticancer drugs, which attract high interests of academic researchers and advanced users. An understanding of the underlying mechanism of PCD induced by flavonoids in cancer cells is important as it plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. This systematic review is to report flavonoids and their derivatives as new anticancer candidates to stimulate PCD with a different mechanism based on the pharmacological evidence.

Osteoclasts originated from hematopoietic stem cells are multi-nucleated cells that can resorb the bone matrix. Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK)/RANK ligand (RANKL) signaling pathway is crucial for the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts. In this study, we investigated for the first time whether or not RANKL induced mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1 (MSK1) phosphorylation at Ser 376. Activation of MSK1 was detected as soon as 5 min after RANKL stimulation and sparsely detected at 30 min after stimulation. RANKL-induced MSK1 phosphorylation occurred in a dose-dependent manner. MSK1 is known as a downstream signaling molecule of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Treatment with the PKA inhibitor H89 significantly suppressed c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1) induction upon RANKL stimulation. In addition, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation was extremely inhibited by H89 treatment. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been investigated for induction of MSK1 phosphorylation. Specific signaling pathway inhibitors for p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) significantly blocked RANKL-induced MSK1 activation. Finally, as a downstream effector of the p38-MSK1 pathway, c-Fos transcriptional activity was determined. RANKL-mediated elevation of c-Fos transcriptional activity was significantly suppressed by p38 inhibitor. Moreover, a dominant negative form of CREB suppressed activation of NFATc1. In conclusion, RANKL-stimulated MSK1 phosphorylation could play a role in induction of NFATc1 through CREB and c-Fos activation as a downstream molecule of p38, ERK MAPKs, and PKA. Our results support basic information for the development of osteoclast specific inhibitors.

태백산지역 당골계곡의 산림군집구조 파악을 위해 19개의 방 형구(10m × 10m)를 설치하여 산림식생생육현황을 조사하였다. 태백산 당골계곡 19개의 조사구들은 다양한 지형적 특성 및 방위, 경사도와 해발고에 의하여, 토심 및 토양산도 등을 비롯한 입지인자의 차이로 인한 수종분포의 차이와 각 조사 구들을 Cluster로 분석한 결과에 따라 5개의 군집으로 분류 되었다. 평균상대우점치(M.I.V.)의 경우 군집 A는 산개벚 지나무 16.2%로 가장 높게 나왔고, 다음으로 군집 B에 소나 무가 평균상대우점치 12.5%로 가장 높게 나왔으며 군집 C 는 거제수나무가 평균상대우점치 18.6%로 가장 높았고, 군 집 D 또한 거제수나무 평균상대우점치 17.4%로 가장 높았 으며, 군집 E는 낙엽송이 우점종으로 평균상대우점치 31.5% 로 가장 높은 값을 보였다. 중요치(Importance value)는 군집 A의 경우 상층에서는 산 개벚지나무의 I.V.가 18.7%로 가장 높고, 다음으로 산겨릅나 무가 나타났다. 중층에서는 시닥나무의 I.V.가 33.3%로 제일 높았으며, 다음으로 산개벚지나무, 분비나무, 함박꽃나 무 등의 순으로 나타났다. 군집 B의 경우 상층에서는 소나무의 I.V.가 20.9%로 가 장 높았고, 다음으로 분비나무, 들메나무 등의 순이었고, 중 층에서는 당단풍나무의 I.V.가 20.8%로 가장 높았고, 다음 으로 귀룽나무, 분비나무, 회나무 등의 순으로 높았다. 군집 C는 상층에서는 거제수나무의 I.V.가 23.4%로 가장 높았 고, 다음으로 들메나무, 당마가목 등의 순이었고, 중층에서 도 거제수나무의 I.V.가 11.5%로 가장 높았고, 다음으로 함 박꽃나무, 복장나무, 까치박달나무 순으로 나왔다. 군집 D는 상층에서 거제수나무의 I.V.가 26.2%가장 높 았고, 다음으로 산겨릅나무, 복장나무 순으로 나왔고, 중층 에서 당단풍나무의 I.V.가 13.5%로 가장 높았고, 다음으로 복장나무, 들메나무, 함박꽃나무 순으로 나왔다. 군집 E는 상층에서는 낙엽송의 I.V.가 52.4%로 가장 높았고 그 다음 으로 거제수나무, 신갈나무, 당마가목 순으로 나왔고, 중층 에서는 당단풍나무의 I.V.가 24.9%로 가장 높았고, 그 다음 으로 당마가목, 물개암나무, 신갈나무 순으로 나왔다. 군집별로 조사된 목본식물의 종다양성을 보면 군집별 방 형구수는 군집 A와 군집 B는 4개, 군집 C는 3개, 군집 D와 군집 E는 4개로 군집 간 방형구수의 차가 심하지 않게 나타 났다. 출현종수는 군집 B가 28종으로 가장 많았고, 다음으 로 군집 D와 E가 22종으로 나타났다. 종간의 상관관계는 거제수나무와 부게꽃나무, 산겨릅나 무, 고로쇠나무와 까치박달나무, 당단풍나무와 신갈나무, 함박꽃나무 등의 수종 간에 서로 유의한 관계를 보였으며, 까치박달나무와 잣나무, 복장나무와 회나무, 신갈나무와 철 쭉이 수종 간에 매우 유의한 관계를 보였다. 종 다양도 (H')는 군집 A, B, C, D, E에서 각각 1.0172, 1.3011, 1.1483, 1.1882, 1.0459로 나타났다. 종 다양성을 최대종다양성으로 나눈 균재도(J')에서는 군집 B가 0.8991 로 가장 높게 나타났고, 그 다음으로 군집 C, 군집 D 순으로 나타났다.

Brucellosis is an important and re-emerging zoonotic disease worldwide. The prevention of human infection is achieved predominantly through the control of brucellosis in agricultural animals, which in turn depends on accurate diagnosis and vaccination. However, conventional serological diagnosis of brucellosis has several limitations, and currently available vaccines for animals have several drawbacks, including the ability to cause infection in humans. Phosphoglycerate kinase (Pgk) is one of the specific proteins reactive with mouse sera in the early stage of Brucella infection, and deletion of the pgk gene in B. abortus strain 2308 resulted in extreme attenuation of this strain in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the B. abortus pgk mutant has been used as a live vaccine, and in challenge experiments, it induced protection that was superior to that conferred by commercial strains. In this study, the pgk gene from Brucella abortus 544 was successfully amplified and cloned into a maltose binding protein fusion protein expression vector (pMAL). The recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli DH5α and purified. The immunogenicity of purified recombinant B. abortus 544 Pgk (rPgk) was evaluated by western blot analysis using Brucella-positive mouse sera. rPgk could be used as an antigenic component for future serological tests and potential vaccine development.

Brucellosis is a notorious zoonotic disease with global implications. Efforts to control the spread of the disease have been restricted to the agricultural livestock. Increasing incidences of accidental human infection have motivated researches to start working on alternative vaccines. At present, live attenuated vaccines are the only accepted type of vaccines used in developed countries for the prevention of brucellosis. Although serodiagnosis is occasionally unreliable, some countries have already claimed to have eradicated the disease, based on this testing. Live attenuated vaccines are not suitable for use in pregnant and immune-depressed animals. Moreover, these vaccines are not tolerated in humans. Therefore, many researches have been striving to discover alternative methods of vaccination. Most research has focused on the generation of subcellular, subunit, and DNA vaccines that are as efficient as the live attenuated vaccines. At present, none of the available vaccines has been able to replace the live attenuated vaccines. Therefore, additional research is necessary in order to discover a new brucellosis vaccine that is suitable for human use.

Brucellosis is an important bacterial zoonotic infection worldwide responsible for economic losses in livestock industries which represents a considerable and increasing public health burden. The disease is caused by Brucella which possess the ability to invade and replicate within phagocytes and may result to chronic infection, leading to difficulty in medical therapy of the disease. The treatment for brucellosis employs conventional principles that have been applied for a long time and a combination of antibiotics is currently used due to low efficacy of monotherapies. However, vital effects with respect to health and safety are neglected. Nevertheless, the preventive methods and treatments for brucellosis using traditional medicine have not yet been thoroughly studied, hence, alternative therapies such as the use of natural plant extracts as traditional medicine that are safe, efficient and economical should be explored in order to identify candidates that eliminate complications due to brucellosis. Coptis chinensis Franch (Huanglian) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb and its extract has been known to possess strong antibacterial activity. In this study, the antibacterial effects of C. chinensis Franch extracts, and the major components of the herb namely berberine and palmatine, were investigated on B. abortus. The C. chinensis Franch ethanol extracts (CCFE) showed bactericidal effects at 1,000 μg/ml concentration and berberine at 100 μg/ml concentration. However, C. chinensis Franch and its components did not affect invasion and intracellular growth of B. abortus in RAW 264.7 cells. In conclusion, C. chinensis Franch ethanol extracts, water extract and its major components such as berberine and palmatine would be a beneficial antimicrobial agent without affecting phagocytic pathway within macrophages, and further study for the precise mechanisms of antibacterial effect would be necessary.

The fact that flip-flops, one of many different types of unstable shoes, are light and relatively easy to put on, accounts for their popularity among people. But because flip-flops rely heavily on the support of a single thong between your first and second toes, they impose a huge amount of pressure onto lower leg. Thus in the following experiment we tried to examine the different effects of flip-flops and running shoes in terms of their effect on muscle activity and fatigue of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius during walking. In order to measure an electromyogram we used Free EMG system. 10 men and 10 women in running shoes ran on treadmills for 15 minutes at 4.8km/h, 2 days later the same experiment was carried out, but this time, in flip-flops. p value turned out to be greater than .05 and thus there was no considerable difference between the effects of flip-flops and running shoes on muscle activity and fatigue during walking. Therefore we conclude that despite the fact that flip-flops are considered unstable, their effects on muscle activity and fatigue of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius are negligible.

This study aims to address the effect of interferential current therapy and thereby to provide basic resources to physical therapies for internal medicine by identifying symptoms for functional dyspepsia and serum gastrin level that shows gastric motility. Following results were obtained by performing interferential current therapy to 16 subjects composed of 8 for functional dyspepsia group and 8 for control group for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks. In control group, serum gastrin level was significantly( p<.01), lowered after the therapy whereas there was no significant difference observed in all questions from questionnaire for symptoms of functional dyspepsia between before and after the therapy. In functional dyspepsia group, serum gastrin level was significantly(p<.01), lowered after the therapy and there was also significant(p<.01) reduction in every question from questionnaire for symptoms of functional dyspepsia between before and after the therapy. There was more significant decrease in serum gastrin level and reduction in questionnaire for symptoms of functional dyspepsia in the functional dyspepsia group compared to the control group(p<.01). This study confirms the interferential current therapy as an effective therapeutic method for internal diseases including functional dyspepsia since it not only improves the symptoms of functional dyspepsia but also allows the gastric motility close to normal.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between the stature and the muscle performance ratings and the subjective discomfort rations at performing lower arm's pronation and supination according to change sin the height of working table for more efficient performance at designing a working table and performing a work. For the purpose, this study conducted an experiment targeting 40 people in their 20s, who were classified into 4 groups each group composing 10 people at intervals of 5cm from the standard stature of 166.5cm. The experiment measured the maximum isometric pronation and the supination muscular power, and at measuring the factors, the heights of working tables were set as 800mm, 850mm, and 900mm. From the measurement results, it was found that the stature and the maximum muscular power was correlated. That is, as the experiment groups's average stature is higher, the maximum muscular power was higher. For the correlation between the motion patterns(pronation and supination) and the maximum muscular power, it was seen that the maximum muscular power was higher at performing the pronation than the supination. In the correlation between motion patterns and the subjective discomfort ratings, it was seen that the subjective discomfort rating was higher at performing the supination than the pronation. For the correlation between height adjustment and the subjective discomfort ratings, as the height of working table was lower, the subject discomfort rating was lower. Therefore there was no difference in the maximum muscular power according to the height changes of working table, but it was found that as the working table was higher, the user felt more comfortable.

The aim of this is to examine the effects of SSP therapy on the internal carotid arteries blood flow of 24 tension type headache patients(study group) and non tension type headache patients(control group), and on the reduction of their headaches, when applied to the acupuncture points. It stimulated the acupuncture point of headache 6 place with the SSP. It measured VAS and the blood flow of the internal carotid arteries with TCD. When the internal carotid arteries blood flow of study group and control group were compared by period, a significant difference was found in the 4th period(p<.05). When the Visual Analog Scale of study group and control group were compared by period, a significant difference was found in the 4th period(p<.05). The comparison of each measurement result of the internal carotid arteries blood flow of the study group found significantly increased. The comparison of each measurement result of the VAS of study group found significantly decreased. With regard to the control group, the VAS significantly decreased. The silver spike point low frequency electrical stimulation treatment, when applied to the acupuncture point, can significantly influence the internal carotid arteries blood flow of headache patients and can significantly reduce their headaches.