Owing to the great demand for portable and wearable chemical sensors, the development of all-solid-state potentiometric ion sensors is highly desirable considering their simplicity and stability. However, most ion sensors are challenged by the penetration of water and gas molecules into ion-selective membranes, causing unstable and undesirable sensing performances. In this study, a hydrophobic ionic liquid-modified graphene (Gr) sheet was prepared using a fluid dynamics-induced exfoliation and functionalization process. The high hydrophobicity and electrical double-layer capacitance of Gr make it a potential solid-state ion-to-electron transducer for the development of potentiometric sodium-ion ( Na+) sensors. The as-prepared Na+ sensors effectively prevented the formation of the water layer and penetration of gas species, resulting in stable and high sensing performances. The Na+ sensors showed a Nernstian sensitivity of 58.11 mV/[Na+] with a low relative standard deviation (0.46), fast response time (5.1 s), good selectivity (K < 10− 4), and good durability. Furthermore, the Na+ sensor demonstrated its feasibility in practical applications by measuring accurate and reliable ion concentrations of artificial human sweat and tear samples, comparable to a commercial ion meter.

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is one of the most important agricultural pests. Therefore, we screened fifteen compounds from natural products for their spatial repellent and oviposition deterrent activities against T. urticae in the laboratory by using two-choice and no-choice tests. In the bridge two-choice test, nine compounds showed the spatial repellent effects on T. urticae at 20 mg dose, resulting in reduced numbers of eggs. Among the nine compounds, at 2 mg dose, two compounds were selected as having more spatial repellent activity than the others. The two compounds also showed spatial repellent and oviposition deterrent effects in the two-choice test from hosts. In the no-choice test from a host, the spatial repellent effects of the two compounds to T. urticae were significantly stronger than that of controls. These results suggest that the findings can be used as potential agents for the prevention and population control of T. urticae in the field.

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is the world-wide agriculture pest and has the ability to become resistant to many pesticides. Hence, we conducted behavioral tests on apterous and alate aphids for series compounds from natural products by using a two-choice test, a no-choice test, a host choice test and electroantennography (EAG). As a result, we found 3 out of 30 compounds for apterous aphids and 2 out of 15 compounds for alate aphids, both of which showed powerful repellent effects on these aphids. In this study, we suggest that our findings could be useful and eco-friendly spatial repellents for controlling cotton aphid.

Ixodid ticks are notorious as the vector of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in Korea. To confirm the transovarial transmission of SFTSV, we collected blood-fed adult ticks from animals in SFTS case reported area of Jeju island in 2015. A total of 476 ticks were collected from four host animal species, horse (81.3%), dog (9.0%), roe deer (7.1%) and wild boar (2.5%). They were identified as 1 genus and 2 species, Haemaphysalis longicornis (87.8%) and H. flava (12.2%). Among them, 131 adults hatched their eggs successfully. The body weight of females was highly correlated with the number of egg masses laid (P < 0.05). We confirmed that one adult H. flava was infected with SFTSV and its infection rate was 0.77%. The eggs of the SFTSV-infected adults also were infected with SFTSV and its transovarial transmission was confirmed. This result suggests that the parent generation of H. flava could transmit SFTSV transovarially into their F1 progeny and H. flava might be one of major vectors of SFTSV in Korea.

Composite resins are developed as restorative materials to improve esthetics and mechanical properties. To improve the physical properties of resin material, resin filler have to be added. However, no imaging method is adopted for resin filler distribution. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a optical imaging technique to delineate microscopic structures within biological tissue. The OCT application to dental composites resin and its filler is not described yet. So, this new and advanced optical method is needed for clinical application for evaluation of dental composite resin. To analyze the spatial distribution of dental composite resin and to evaluate the resin restoration in cavity, frequency domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) was used for their analysis. Resin restored tooth was prepared. For morphological observation, serially sectioned teeth, conventional X-ray taking and micro computed-tomography (CT) images were compared with OCT images. The experiment has done to evaluate the success of the resin restoration using 3 dimensional structure OCT image. In this research, OCT is evaluated as a new technique to image resin restoration. The evaluation of resin restored tooth was performed by OCT. Inappropriate restoration such as marginal adaptation, large porosities, internal integrity and poor contour could be detected. Resin filler also could be checked by OCT. The distribution, number, regularity and size of resin filler can be differentiated from several commercial products. Considering the characteristics of the OCT, it can be used to evaluate the defects of resin restoration, resin filler distribution, and internal integrity between resin material and tooth structure. The OCT can be considered to be a new and advanced method for the evaluation of resin restorations.

The purpose of this study is to verify a correlation between flexi-bar exercise and improvement of trunk strength and body composition in juvenile soccer players. The subjects were 11 teenager juvenile soccer players who conducted flexi-bar exercise half an hour daily three times a week for eight weeks. They were tested for trunk muscles strength, body composition and correlation. The result showed that trunk muscles strength improved significantly( p<.01) and weight, Rt. arm muscle mass, Rt. leg muscle mass, and Lt. leg muscle mass(p<.05), Lt. arm muscle mass, trunk muscle mass, and body muscle mass(p<.01) improved significantly as well while Lt. arm fat mass, Rt. leg fat mass, and Lt. leg fat mass decreased significantly(p<.05). In the correlation analysis, the more trunk muscle mass and trunk muscles strength increased, the more muscle mass of body regions increased, which was a positive correlation whereas fat mass of body regions decreased, which was a negative correlation. It was verified that there was a correlation between flexi-bar exercise and improvement of trunk muscles strength and body composition for juvenile soccer players.

Antibiotics have been used to prevent disease, promote growth rate, and improve feed efficiency. However, the use of antibiotics in livestock has been restricted worldwide due to problems such as bacterial resistance. Therefore, probiotics among alternatives to antibiotics have gained attention in the livestock feed industry these days. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with probiotic 379D on safety, growth rate, and feed efficiency. In this study, bacterial strain 379D was isolated from soil and identified as a Bacillus sp. according to 16S rRNA sequence analysis. In an in vitro test, in-gel activity assay and antimicrobial susceptibility test were conducted to evaluate 379D. In an in vivo study, 379D was administered at concentrations of 0.1% and 1% to broiler chickens for 28 days. The results of in-gel activity assay and antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that strain 379D had broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, no adverse 379D-related effects were observed in 0.1% and 1% groups. Feed efficiency was higher in the 379D-treated groups than in the control group. In conclusion, 379D is expected to be used as a safe alternative to antibiotics in a feed supplement and will improve feed efficiency in broiler chickens.

The purpose of this study is to provide the case of influence of myofacial release(MFR) and cryotherapy in acute whiplash injury. The subjects were consisted of 3 adults(2 males, 1 female) who had been diagnosed with whiplash injury. The performance period was 1 weeks, 6 times and 1 time is 40min(MFR: 20min, cryotherapy: 20min). We measured neck pain(Visual analogue scale, VAS) and cervical alignment(cervical curvature & line of gravity). All measurements of each subject were measured at pre-treatment and post-treatment. The results are listed below. The neck pain(VAS) index decreased from 7.54cm to 4.11cm. The cervical curvature increased from 23.62°to 29.76°. The line of gravity decreased from 8.03mm to 3.66mm. Based on the results, it can be suggested that both MFR and cryotherapy can be used to neck pain and alignment in acute whiplash injury.

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.

Trombiculid mites are known to be the vector of tsutsugamushi disease by transmitting Orientia tsutsugamushi to human. Although the classification of trombiculid mites is necessary for vector surveillance, their classification by morphological observation is only possible at the larval stage and not easy because of similar shapes as well as tiny body sizes. Further the classification need the specimen production process, it takes much time and the accuracy of classification is changed according to the technology of the researcher. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) regions of 8 trombiculid mite species were analyzed by amplification using tick common ITS primer sets. We designed molecular marker sets for the identification of five Leptotrombidium species, the lengths of marker L. orientale (1078 bp), L. pallidum (820 bp), L. palpale (1202 bp), L. scutellare (447 bp) and for L. zetum (621 bp) and three Neotrombicula species, the lengths of marker N. gardellai (264 bp), N. japonica (460 bp) and N. kwangneungensis (309 bp) based on alignment of ITS sequences. The markers will be helpful for exact classification of trombiculid mites. This study is the first report on molecular marker of ITS regions of trombiculid mites.

The purpose of this study was to investigate spirometric lung pattern, respiratory function and degree of fatigue by lung function tests and fatigue tests of 39 elderly people in a care facility aged 65 and over. The respiratory function tests were used to the Spirovit SP-1 and fatigue tests were used modified Piper fatigue scale(mPFS). Regarding the respiratory function, the FVC was 1.41±0.36ℓ, the FVC % predicted was 69.10±14.98%, the FEV1 was 1.02±0.31ℓ, the FEV1 % predicted was 63.27±16.05%, the FEV1/FVC was 72.77±13.40%, and the fatigue score was 5.83±1.09. As for the spirometric lung pattern, 19 patients had a restrictive pattern(48.7%), followed by 11 with a mixed pattern(28.2%), 5 with an obstructive pattern( 12.8%), and 4 with a normal pattern(10.3%). Regarding the respiratory function and fatigue by spirometric lung pattern, the FVC and the FVC % predicted of patients with a normal pattern or an obstructive pattern were greater than other groups at a statistically significant level. As for the FEV1, that of patients with a normal pattern was significantly higher than others, and for the FEV1 % predicted, that of patients with a normal pattern or a restrictive pattern was significantly higher(p<.001). Fatigue score by patients with a normal pattern was significantly less than patients of other patterns(p<.001). Therefore, pulmonary physical therapy is considered necessary to improve respiratory function and fatigue degradation of elderly in a facility.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the exercise on elderly balance ability by using hippotherapy and therapeutic ball exercise. 10 patients were assigned to the hippotherapy group and they got with 30 minutes of hippotherapy. Another 10 elderly were assigned to the therapeutic ball group and they got with 30 minutes of therapeutic ball exercise. All procedures were repeated 5 times a week for the total of four weeks. To investigate the participants balancing abilities, the Time“ Up & Go”(TUG) and One Leg Stand Test(OLST) were evaluated. The results of study were significant differences between pre-test and post-test of TUG and OLST(p<.05), and there were no significant differences between hippotherapy and therapeutic ball exercise(p>.05). The conclusion showed that both the hippotherapy and the therapeutic ball exercises were effective on elderly balancing ability. Consequently, it would be better to practice therapeutic ball than hippotherapy for elderly exercise because the more economical and there is less restriction of space than the hippotherapy.

The baculovirus expression system is one of the most popular methods used for the production of recombinant proteins but has several complex steps which have proved inherently difficult to meet a multi-parellel process. We have developed a novel recombinant bacmid, bEasyBm that enabling easy and fast generation of pure recombinant virus without any purification step. In the bEasyBm, attR recombination sites were introduced to facilitate the generation of recombinant viral genome by in vitro transposition. Moreover, extracellular RNase gene from bacillus amyloliquefaciens, barnase, was expressed under the control of Cotesia plutellae bracovirus early promoter. Therefore, only when the barnase gene was replaced to gene of interest, the bEasyBm could replicate in host insect cells. When the bEasyBm was transposed with pDualBac-EGFP and pDualBac-LUC respectively, there were no non-recombinant backgrounds were detected from unpurified BmEasy-EGFP or BmEasy-LUC stocks. In addition, the resulting recombinant virus, BmEasy-EGFP, showed comparable level of EGFP expression efficiency with the plaque-purified recombinant virus, BmEGFP, which was constructed using bBmGOZA system. Based on these results, high-throughput condition for generation of multiple recombinant viruses in a time was established.

Varieties of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal proteins, Cry proteins, have so far been found as one of the most successful biological control agents which are safe to natural environments for a long time. Recently, cry genes encoding these Cry proteins have been widely applied for construction of transgenic crops resistant to pest insects. In this study, through the 3D structure prediction and accompanying mutagenesis study for the Mod-Cry1Ac, 7 and 16 amino acid residues from domain I and II, respectively, responsible for its insecticidal activity against larvae of Spodoptera exigua and Ostrinia furnacalis were identified. To construct novel cry genes with improved insecticidal activity, we randomly mutated these 23 amino acid sequences by in vitro muti site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in totally 24 mutant cry genes. For further characterization, these mutant cry genes were expressed as a fusion protein with polyhedrin using baculovirus expression system. SDS-PAGE analysis of the recombinant polyhedra revealed that expressed Cry proteins was occluded into polyhedra and activated stably to 65 kDa by trypsin. In the further study, we plan to investigate their insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella, S. exigua and O. furnacalis larvae.

To identify subspecies and stocks of minke whale meats purchased from Korean markets during 2005-2007, we first obtained their complete sequences of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and control region sequences, and compared these sequences to the corresponding sequences of the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), obtained from GenBank. From analyses with partial cytochrome b sequences (383 bp) and non-coding, partial control region sequences (463 bp), Korean mink whale meats are identified as products from the North Pacific minke whale (B. a. scammoni). In addition, the sequences of the partial control region from these meats showed G at site no. 298 and G or A at site no. 463, and the meats appeared to originate from the J stock within this subspecies. Thus, because the J stock has been protected since 1986, implementation of strict regulation measures to reduce their accidental fisheries by catch seems urgent. In addition, B. a. scammoni is distinct from B. a. acutorostrata, with an average Jukes-Cantor distance of 2.21% in the complete control region sequence analysis (935 bp) and 1.31% in the complete cytochrome b gene sequence analysis; the current results support the current subspecies classification, although further sequencing analyses with nuclear genes are necessary.