갯까치수염은 다육성의 2년생 초본 자생식물로서, 제주도, 울릉도를 비롯하여 남해안 지역에서 자라며 자생지의 환경에 맞게 내염성이 크다는 특징이 있고, 다양한 환경에 적응하며 관상가치가 높다. 관련 문헌을 보면 발아조건과 개화조절에 대한 연구만 보고되었고 그 중간단계인 재배에 관한 연구가 부족하여 대량생산을 위한 공정육묘법 개발의 일환으로 이 실 험을 수행하였다. 실험은 플라스틱온실 내에서 발아시킨 1cm 전후의 묘를 50, 128, 200구 트레이에 이식하여 한국원시표 준액(N-P-K-Ca-Mg, 15-3-6-8-4)을 각각 권장 EC농도의 0, 0.5, 1, 2배 농도로 매일 5분간 순환식으로 저면 관수하여 6주간 재배 후 초장, 근장, 엽수, 뿌리수, SPAD, 생체중, 건물 중을 측정하였다. 갯까치수염 생육은 플러그 셀 크기 50셀에 서 생육이 가장 높았다. 양액농도에 따른 갯까치수염의 생육 은 0.5배액에서 초장과 근장의 수치가 가장 높았으며, 모든 생육지표가 양액 농도변화에 따른 차이가 발생하는 것으로 나 타났고 실질적인 총 생산량의 지표라고 할 수 있는 지상부와 지하부의 건물중에 영향을 미치지 않았다는 결과가 나온 것으 로 미뤄 육묘단계에서 양액의 농도가 셀 크기보다 갯까수치염 의 묘 생육에 더 영향이 큰 것으로 보인다. 갯까치수염의 조직 충실도 면에서 0.5, 1, 2배액의 200구에서 가장 높은 결과값 들이 나왔다. 결과적으로 기존 원시표준액에 비해 생장에 유 리한 결과를 보이며 비료도 절약할 수 있는 0.5배 양액처리조 건이 갯까치수염 육묘 재배에 더 효율적이였다.

The threat of North Korea's long-range firepower is recognized as a typical asymmetric threat, and South Korea is prioritizing the development of a Korean-style missile defense system to defend against it. To address this, previous research modeled North Korean long-range artillery attacks as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and used Approximate Dynamic Programming as an algorithm for missile defense, but due to its limitations, there is an intention to apply deep reinforcement learning techniques that incorporate deep learning. In this paper, we aim to develop a missile defense system algorithm by applying a modified DQN with multi-agent-based deep reinforcement learning techniques. Through this, we have researched to ensure an efficient missile defense system can be implemented considering the style of attacks in recent wars, such as how effectively it can respond to enemy missile attacks, and have proven that the results learned through deep reinforcement learning show superior outcomes.

As the demand for nuclear power increases as a means to achieve carbon neutrality, concerns about nuclear proliferation have also grown. Consequently, significant researches have conducted to enhance nuclear non-proliferation resistance. Among these research, nuclear material attractiveness is a methodology used to evaluate how appealing a particular material is for potential use in nuclear weapons, based on the characteristics of that material. Existing nuclear material attractiveness assessments focused on materials like U, Pu, and TRU, which could be directly used in the production of nuclear weapons. However, these assessments did not consider how the properties of nuclear materials change throughout the nuclear fuel cycle, with each facility process. This study assumed a scenario of the nuclear fuel cycle of graphite reduction reactors and analyzed including enrichment facilities and PUREX. This study used the FOM (Figure-Of-Merit) method developed by LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) for evaluating the nuclear material attractiveness. The FOM formula consists of three parameters such as critical mass, heat content, and dose The critical mass of targe materials and the dose evaluation were conducted using the Monte Carlo N-Particle code. The heat content was calculated using the ORIGEN code embedded in the Scale code. In particular, if U-238 is dominant in the facility’s materials, such as mining and refining facilities, and critical mass evaluation is unpractical. Therefore, 1SQ (Significant Quantity) of that uranium was assumed as the critical mass value for the FOM evaluation, even though 1SQ is not identical to the critical mass As a result of this study, the attractiveness of Pu produced by PUREX among all nuclear fuel cycle facilities was 2.7616, which was the most attractive to be diverted to nuclear weapons. Through this study, it was shown that the proliferation risk of the nuclear facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle and risk of diversion among those facilities.

Fly ash consists of various metal oxides which can remove SO2 gas by the catalyst effect. When fly ash is added in the preparation process of pitch-based activated carbon, the pitch particles aggregate and fly ash is embedded in the activated carbon. To increase SO2 gas removal performance, activated carbon was prepared by surface-treated fly ash and petroleum-based pitch. Carboxyl groups were introduced into the fly ash by malic acid treatment. The introduced carboxyl groups acted as an activation agent to create micropore around the fly ash, and created micropores were exposed to the fly ash outside of the activated carbon. The exposed fly ash increased removal amount of SO2 gas by a catalytic effect of the metal oxides. The SO2 gas removal performance improved by 34% because of the catalyst effect of the exposed fly ash and improvement in the micropore structure in the activated carbon.

To enhance mechanical properties through improvement of dispersion stability of carbon black (CB) in epoxy resins, fluorine functional groups were introduced on the CB surface by fluorination. The changes in the chemical properties and dispersion stabilities after fluorination were evaluated with different partial pressures of fluorine gas. The mechanical properties of the fluorinated CB/epoxy composites were evaluated by the test of tensile, impact strengths and creep behavior. The fluorinated CB/epoxy composites showed approximately 1.6 and 1.1 times enhancement in the tensile and impact strengths compared to that of neat epoxy, respectively. Moreover, when a constant load was applied at 323 K, the fluorinated CB/epoxy composites lasted longer and had smaller strain changes than those of the raw CB/epoxy composites. Thus, well-dispersed CB by fluorination in epoxy resins effectively transfers mechanical stress.

PURPOSES : Almost every design method for airport concrete pavements considers only traffic loading and not environmental loading. This study proposes a mechanistic design method for airport concrete pavements, that considers both environmental and traffic loading simultaneously. METHODS: First, the environmental loading of concrete pavements in Korean airports was quantified. FEAFAA, a finite element analysis program for airport pavements, was used to calculate the maximum tensile stress (MTS) of the slab, caused by both environmental and traffic loadings. The factors that influence the MTS were identified via sensitivity analysis, and an MTS prediction model was developed using the statistical analysis program SPSS. The ratio of MTS to the tensile strength of slab was calculated using the prediction model. The fatigue model under the AC 150/5320-6E and AC 150/5320-6F standards of the FAA was corrected to make it suitable for the predicted stress-strength ratio. RESULTS : The MTS prediction model and corrected fatigue model were used to redesign the slab thickness and joint spacing of airport concrete pavements originally designed using the AC 150/5320-6D standard, which empirically considers traffic loading only. As a result, different slab thicknesses and joint spacings were redesigned with consideration for environmental loading, specifically the weather conditions of airports. . CONCLUSIONS: The slab thickness and joint spacing can be mechanistically designed at the same time, whereas previously, only the slab thickness was designed, and the joint spacing was determined empirically.

The kidney is a highly complex organ, and acute or chronic renal diseases can occur with various complications such as diabetes and hypertension. So far, no target specific treatment is available in acute or chronic renal failure, necessitating the development of alternative therapeutic strategy. Recent experimental findings suggest that the renal function and structure can be restored after being treated with various sources of stem/progenitor cells. In this review, we discuss up-to-date findings of the potential of renal progenitor/stem cells in alleviating renal injuries with a focus on preclinical studies. We also review cellular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic function of these cells.

Honeybees are inevitably threatened by various pathogens including Sacbrood virus (SBV) and Galleria mellonella. Recently, RNA interference (RNAi) has been suggested as a promising strategy for suppression of honey bee viruses. Also, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been widely applied for the control of lepidopteran pests such as G. mellonella. In this study, it was intended to develop dsRNA production platform using Bt. For this, the pHT1K-SBV vp1 vector which transcribes sense and anti-sense SBV vp1 gene under control of Cyt1Aa sporulation-dependent promoter was introduced into Bt strain NT0423 expressing Cry1-types toxins. SBV replication was suppressed in the worker A. cerana ingested dsRNA produced from the Bt transformant. Crystal proteins from the Bt transformant showed high level of insecticidal activity against 4th instar larvae of G. mellonella.

루비깍지벌레 Ceroplastes rubens는 감귤에 피해를 주는 주요 깍지벌레 중 하나로 연 1회 발생하며 수액을 흡즙하는 직접적인 피해와 분비된 감로로 인한 그을음병 유발의 간접적인 피해가 발생하고 있다. 제주지역에서 루비깍지벌레 천적으로는 루비붉은깡충좀벌 Anicetus beneficus와 애홍점박이무당벌레 Chilocorus kuwanae 2종이 확인되었다. 1975년 일본에서 도입 방사한 천적인 루비붉은깡충좀벌이 현재까지 지속적으로 발생하고 있었으며, 루비깍지벌레 발생 억제에 영향을 미치고 있었다. 2018년 4월부터 12월까지 도내 유기재배 감귤원 (2개소)에서 황색끈끈이트랩을 이용 루비붉은깡충좀벌 성충의 시기별 발생양상을 조사한 결과 월동세대 성충은 5월 중순, 제1세대와 제2세대 성충은 각각 7월 중순과 8월 하순에 발생 정점을 나타내었다. 조사 포장에서 루비깍지벌레의 기생률은 9월 중순에 9.6%와 19.6%이었다.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a disorder that is manifested by a sudden decrease of renal function within several hours, and AKI remains a significant cause that can lead to increasing morbidity and mortality. Although AKI has been extensively studies in animal models, translating the results from animal studies into clinical use has not been successful due to various factors including basal etiology of kidney deficiency and comorbidities and the complexity of this pathology. As a golden parameter, measuring serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) has been conventionally used for determining the renal function, however, these biomarkers has been regarded suboptimal to identify renal injuries in early stages. In this study, we attempted to screen other serum biomarkers in early AKI event using cynomolgus monkeys. Two male monkeys, aged 60 months, were subjected to ischemic injury by unilateral clamping of renal pedicles for forty five minutes and then subsequently reperfused; the unclamped kidney was regarded as non-injured controls. Compared with control kidneys, we have found that the concentration of several inflammatory proteins including MCP1, TGFα, GSTα, were higher in the renal vein of injured kidney compared with control side after 24 and 48 hours of AKI. However, changes of serum level of KIM-1, which is one of the most-widely studied marker in rodent studies, were not different after AKI. Our results provide an useful information while developing a novel marker in AKI.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique has recently been applied in agriculture and food science. It has potential to visualize internal structure of foods in nondestructive way and provides spatial information which could make reconstruct of three-dimension. MRI system also has great advantage for tracking water in beans or seeds. This study intends to analyze the changes of water distribution of coffee beans during water up-taking process. Samples used in the experiment were ‘Robusta’ coffee beans (Vietnam G1, Scr18 polish). A 30mm diameter plastic disposable test tube was used to hold bean during water up-take process. The oil column was placed next to the tube to get and to use as a reference signal. The magnetic resonance imaging system which installed at Institution for Agricultural Machinery & ICT Convergence in Chonbuk National University was used to obtain magnetic resonance (MR) image data sets. 30 images are included in each image data sets with ‘Axial’ image plane direction. In experiment, we used ‘Gradient Echo 3D’ pulse sequence. The water uptake process was performed for 150 minutes and acquired image data sets in every 10 minutes. This study showed some coffee beans which extracted as region of interest (ROI) from each images to study the water uptake process.

RNA interference (RNAi) has been considered as an alternative strategy to control agricultural pest whereby double-stranded RNA triggers a potent and specific inhibition of its homologous mRNA. Since small dsRNAs are required for various RNAi applications, there is a need for cost-effective methods for producing large quantities of high-quality dsRNA. In this study, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) based dsRNA production platform was established under control of sporulation-dependent promoter and vp1 gene of Sacbrood virus (SBV) was introduced. The dsRNA against vp1 gene produced from the Bt suppressed the replication of SBV. In addition, the dsRNA was assembled into inulin coated-nanoparticle to increase stability of dsRNA in environment.

Korea is the second largest coffee consuming country in Asia after the Philippines. For modern people, coffee has jumped over a favorite food and grown into a single culture. There are many processing ways to make coffee. In this study, we utilized magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and achieved to acquire images with an non-destructive and non-invasive way. The samples we used in the experiment were ‘Robusta’ coffee bean(Congo). Magnetic resonance(MR) image sets were acquired using a MRI system, installed at Institution for Agricultural Machinery & ICT Convergence at Chonbuk National University. From the raw phase(Green Bean stage) to the roasted phase, we obtained MR images from each phase to monitor the internal changes. We divided experiment into 5 stages, starting with ‘Green Bean’ phase to ‘Roasted’ phase. We obtained images every 6 hours during the ‘Fermentation’ phase and every 3 hours during the ‘Dry’ phase. In MRI, we used a gradient echo pulse sequence to scan fast and to take images right after each experiment stage ends. The direction of imaging plane was coronal 30 images with 64 mm x 64 mm field of view(FOV). As MRI uses the magnetic properties of nuclei which especially hydrogen nuclei from water molecules, images could see clearly with sufficient moisture, but in ‘Dry’ phase, images obtained with noise involved. These result suggested that MRI technique was an efficient method to monitor the moisture distribution changes inside the coffee beans.