This study aims to systematically investigate the insect diversity within the distinct coastal grassland and mountain habitats of East Busan, Busan Metropolitan City. The objective is to gather foundational data that will inform natural environment conservation plans and contribute to policy formulation. Employing a comprehensive collection approach, we utilized trapping nets, pitfall traps, and flying insect traps to capture a broad spectrum of insect species. The investigation identified a rich diversity of 132 species across 9 orders and 52 families. Coleoptera emerged as the most prevalent order with 13 families and 41 species, followed by Diptera with 8 families and 24 species, and Lepidoptera with 9 families and 21 species. To assess the biodiversity and structure of these communities by habitat type, we applied several biodiversity indices: the Shannon-Wiener index (H'), Margalef index (R), and Pielou evenness index. Coastal grasslands exhibited an H' of 3.153, R of 11.08, and a Pielou evenness of 0.371; coastal mountains showed an H' of 2.922, R of 13.02, and a Pielou evenness of 0.202. These metrics reveal no significant differences in diversity and evenness between the two habitats. The endangered Copris tripartitus was notably observed in coastal grasslands, alongside 20 species classified as Least Concern (LC) in the National Red List across both habitats. The comparative analysis of biodiversity and evenness levels across coastal grassland and mountain areas highlights the ecological significance of both habitats in supporting a diverse insect fauna. The detection of endangered and LC species within these areas emphasizes the critical need for ongoing monitoring and the development of effective conservation strategies tailored to protect Busan's coastal ecosystems. The findings underscore the necessity of conducting periodic surveys to monitor faunal changes and inform conservation efforts actively. By ensuring the continued protection of insect diversity, these efforts will play a pivotal role in maintaining the ecological integrity of coastal areas, thereby supporting broader environmental conservation objectives.

The study of blowfly (Diptera, Calliphoridae) biodiversity and distribution is crucial for forensic investigations involving cadavers. Abiotic and biotic factors, such as seasonality and habitat type, have significant impacts on blowfly populations. However, few forensic entomology studies have been conducted in South Korea, particularly the Gyeongsangnam-do region. To address this, in this study, an extensive year-long survey was conducted to analyze the compositions, habitat preferences, distribution, and seasonal abundance of forensically relevant blowflies in urban and forested habitats in Gyeongsangnam-do, utilizing mouse carcass-baited traps set for 48 h each month. A total of 3,478 adult blowflies were recorded, encompassing six genera and 14 species, with a noted absence of specimens during the winter months. The predominant species was Lucilia porphyrina, accounting for 37.1% of the total sample, followed by Chrysomya pinguis (27.5%), Lucilia sericata (7.6%), and Lucilia illustris (7.1%). The species composition was consistent across all surveyed regions; however, seasonal variation in species diversity was evident, with a peak in spring and decline in summer. Notably, certain species exhibited clear preferences for either urban (Calliphora calliphoroides and L. sericata) or forested habitats (L. porphyrina and Ch. pinguis). This pioneering study elucidates the diverse blowfly communities in Gyeongsangnam-do, highlighting significant seasonal and habitat-dependent variations.

During the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, the structures must be dismantled to a disposal size. Thermal cutting methods are used to reduce metal structures to a disposal size. When metal is cut using thermal cutting methods, aerosols of 1 μm or less are generated. To protect workers from aerosols in the work environment during cutting, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the aerosols generated during the cutting process. In this study, changes in aerosol characteristics in the working environment were observed during metal thermal cutting. The cutting was done using the plasma arc cutting method. To simulate the aerosols generated during metal cutting in the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, a non-radioactive stainless steel plate with a thickness of 20 mm was cut. The cutting condition was set to plasma current: 80 A cutting speed: 100 mm/min. The aerosols generated during cutting were measured using a highresolution aerosol measurement device called HR-ELPI+ (Dekati®). The HR-ELPI+ is an instrument that can measure the range of aerodynamic diameter from 0.006 μm to 10 μm divided into 500 channels. Using the HR-ELPI+, the number concentration of aerosols generated during the cutting process was measured in real-time. We measured the aerosols generated during cutting at regular intervals from the beginning of cutting. The analyzed aerosol concentration increased almost 10 times, from 5.22×106 [1/cm3] at the start of cutting to 6.03×107 [1/cm3] at the end. To investigate the characteristics of the distribution, we calculated the Count Median Aerodynamic Diameter (CMAD), which showed that the overall diameter of the aerosol increased from 0.0848 μm at the start of cutting to 0.1247 μm at the end of the cutting. The calculation results were compared with the concentration by diameter over time. During the cutting process, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or smaller were continuously measured. In comparison, particles with a diameter of 0.2 μm or larger were found to increase in concentration after a certain time following the start of cutting. In addition, when the aerosol was measured after the cutting process had ended, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or less, which were measured during cutting, were hardly detected. These results show that the nucleation-sized aerosols are generated during the cutting process, which can explain the measurement of small particles at the beginning of cutting. In addition, it can be speculated that the generated aerosols undergo a process of growth by contact with the atmosphere. This study presents the results of real-time aerosol analysis during the plasma arc cutting of stainless steel. This study shows the generation of nucleation-sized particles at the beginning of the cutting process and the subsequent increase in the aerosol particle size over time at the worksite. The analysis results can characterize the size of aerosol particles that workers may inhale during the dismantling of nuclear power plants.

Arsenic (As) is accumulated in rice grain due to environmental reasons such as polluted ground water and soil, and As toxicity constitutes a serious threat to human health. However, the accurate information required for understanding As-responsive mechanisms remain mostly unknown in rice. Here, we performed the comparative genome-wide transcriptome analysis between As tolerance type (ATT) rice mutant induced by γ-irradiation and its wild type (WT). As compared to WT after As treatment of 150 ppm, ATT exhibited the phenotypic differences such as vigorous growth in shoots and root hairs, and low accumulation of H2O2 in rice roots. In transcriptome analysis, we found between WT and ATT that As toxicity commonly affected to inhibit gene regulations involved in photosynthesis, mitochondrial electron transport and lipid biosynthesis metabolism. While, many genes associated with cysteine synthesis metabolism considerably up regulated in both As-treated plants. Additionally, we found the potential As tolerance-related genes involved in abiotic stress-responsive mechanism and RNA-protein synthesis for protein degradation and modification. To further analyzes the genetic variations of As-responsive genes, the DNA polymorphic DEGs associated with oxidoreductase significantly distributed in ATT more than in WT.

In order to select a rice population with useful trait such as arsenic tolerance for crop improvement, we have developed 3000 M7 Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) lines by gamma ray (GR) irradiation treatment to a rice variety (cv. Donganbyeo). A total of 2 M7 lines exhibited the arsenic (AsV) tolerant phenotype (hereafter, named Arsenic Tolerant TILLING line 1 and 2, and designed as ATT1 and 2), in which the shoots and roots length of ATT lines were significantly longer than those of wild type (WT) during As(V) treatment. To survey the DNA polymorphism of these plants, we conducted the Whole genome resequencing with 10x coverage in ATT lines. By comparative analysis among ATT lines, we have identified the common DNA polymorphism such as 11,817 SNPs (49.83% in ATT1 and 48.35% in ATT2) and 30,618 InDels (86.72% in ATT1 and 86.23% in ATT2). Also, these mutants were showed the close relationships more than WT. To further study the changed amino acids of genes, we commonly identified the 758 genes for non-synonymous SNPs and 249 genes for changed codon InDels. These genes were mainly exhibited the enriched GO functions such as catalytic activity, nucleic acid binding and transferring phosphorus-containing groups. To determine the genes associated with arsenic-related mechanism in DNA polymorphism of ATT lines, we have retrieved the two structurally altered genes (Os11g47870 and Os03g19900) for metalloid As(V) detoxification toward induced genes in response to arsenic treatments by public microarray datasets. We suggest that As(V) tolerant phenotypes of ATT lines are certainly affected by structurally altered genes associated with phosphorus transferring and As(V) detoxification during GR treatment

We report on a unique case of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the cecum, which presented as a subepithelial tumor. A 62- year-old woman with abdominal pain underwent a colonoscopy, resulting in detection of a subepithelial tumor measuring 2 cm in the cecum. We performed a right hemicolectomy with diagnostic and curative intent; histological examination and immunohistochemical staining of the resected tumor indicated a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient achieved complete remission with combination chemotherapy.