With the advent of technology, telecollaborative projects have emerged that enable learners to interact with native speakers of the target language, helping them to improve both language proficiency and intercultural communicative competence (ICC). One long-lasting project is Cultura, which has been successful because of its pedagogical qualities, such as a task-based approach and collaborative learning (Furstenberg & Levet, 2014). In this study, a Cultura-inspired project was designed to foster interaction between students of Korean as a foreign language (KFL) residing in Australia and students of English as a foreign language (EFL) residing in Korea. ‘Facebook’ was used for asynchronous communication, and ‘Kakao Talk’ and ‘Facebook’ messenger were used for synchronous online chat. In order to suggest a model for designing and practicing future intercultural projects, this study focused on demonstrating the procedures for each task and examining evidence of ICC in the students’ interactions, as represented in speech acts. This study also investigated the students’ experience of the project, using surveys and interviews. The findings suggest that the students showed limited knowledge of their target culture in a word-association task on Facebook, but that their online interactions provided evidence of ICC, for example curiosity, and reflection on their own culture. Most of the students enjoyed the project, especially the online chat. However, the participants mentioned issues, such as the limited number of online interactions and lack of in-class discussions. For future practice, the use of various modes of communication and the desirability of balancing proficiency levels in the target language are discussed.

Oxalic acid has a nematicidal activity against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. High producer of oxalic acid was isolated, and then named as Aspergillus niger F22. Oxalic acid production was investigated under various temperatures from 20 – 33oC and rotational speeds in 5 L jar fermenters. Yield of oxalic acid increased with decreasing temperature. The highest yield was obtained at 23oC, showing the yield of oxalic acid of 8.7 g/L, whereas oxalic acid production was least at 33oC. At 20oC, the yield was lower than that of 23oC. At a rotational speed of 300 rpm, serious oxygen depletion was present from 48 - 72 h, resulting in low productivity of 26.2 mg /L·h. When a rotational speed was set at 600 rpm, dissolved oxygen tension was over 40% and oxalic acid production increased up to approximately 55%. Viscosity during the culture differed with temperatures. Viscosity increased with the increment of temperatures. When A. niger F22 was cultured at 23oC, viscosity was 810 cP, which was favorable for oxalic acid production.

Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) produced in the subesophageal ganglion is known to stimulate pheromone production in the pheromone gland. A cDNA isolated from female adult heads of Maruca vitrata encodes 197 amino acids including PBAN, designated as Mvi-PBAN, and four other neuropeptides (NPs): diapause hormone (DH) homologue, α-NP, β-NP and γ-NP. All of the peptides are amidated in their C-termini and shared a conserved motif, FXPR(or K)L-NH2 structure. Mvi-PBAN consists of 35 amino acids as previously reported (Chang and Ramasamy, 2014). RT-PCR analysis revealed that Mvi-PBAN cDNA was expressed in all examined body parts. Nucleotide sequence analysis of RT-PCR products indicated the Mvi-PBAN sequence was identical in all examined body parts of both sexes. These results suggest that Mvi-PBAN expression is maintained in examined stages or tissues.

Biological control has been tried for integrated pest management. It is often comparable, safe, and environment-friendly, making itself an alternative for chemical agents. Filamentous microorganisms, i.e., fungi and streptomystes, produce many kinds of useful metabolites, and some of them have been developed as a biocontrol agent. However, they still have a long way because of the concern of manufacturing cost. Therefore, process development was intensively studied to meet cost-effectiveness. Operating conditions of bioreactor, e.g., agitation and aeration, had an effect on biological and physiological responses such as mycelial morphology, oxygen and nutrient transfer. Understanding relationship between operating parameters and microbial responses in terms of growth, substrate and oxygen consumption, and production yield was critical for process development. This study dedicated to build strategies for mass production of biological control agent using aerobic filamentous microorganisms.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of Pilates and Tai Chi as physical therapy interventions for pain and dysfunction in chronic lumbago patients. A total of 31 females who were at least 20 years old and diagnosed with chronic lumbago were divided into a Pilates group(PG) (n=10), Tai Chi group(TCG)(n=11), and conservative group(CG)(n=10), to measure their pain and dysfunction before and after a six week intervention. With regard to the changes in the lumbago consciousness scale before and after the six-week intervention, all three groups showed statistical significance(p<.05). The intergroup differences were significant between the PG and CG and between the TCG and CG. All three groups also showed statistical significance(p<.05) in the Oswestry Disability Index before and after the six-week intervention. Again, the intergroup differences were significant between the PG and CG and between the TCG and CG. Based on these results, the application of Pilates and Tai Chi with conservative treatment may be effective in reducing pain and improving dysfunction in chronic lumbago patients.

This study observed the effects of ankle strengthening exercise and whole body vibration on the balance ability of older adults, thereby intending to provide basic materials for intervention methods aimed at improving older adults’ balance ability. The subjects were 20 older adults who had experienced a fall. They were equally divided into two groups. Ankle strengthening training was applied to one group and ankle strengthening training and whole body vibration were applied to the other group, a timed up and go (TUG) test and Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (POMA) were performed, and changes in the subjects’ limits of stability were observed. The TUG and POMA results significantly differed between before and after the experiment in the angle strengthening training (AST) group and the angle strengthening training with whole body vibration (ASTWV) group. In addition, the interaction between timing and each group was statistically significant. The limits of stability significantly changed after the intervention in both groups. Differences in the posterior and right limits of stability were significant between the AST group and ASTWV group. Therefore, ankle strengthening exercise and whole body vibration improve older adults’ balance maintenance and reduce falls or the risk factors for falls in older adults.

The purpose of this study is to provide fundamental clinical data for the treatment plan and rehabilitation of patients with cervical hypolordosis by comparing the cervical headache and muscle activity after cervical stretching exercise and cervical traction, which are generally applied to patients with cervical hypolordosis. The research subjects included 20 patients without gender division who were diagnosed with cervical hypolordosis. After applying cervical stretching exercise and cervical traction for six weeks, cervical headache and the activity of the muscles around the cervical vertebra(upper trapezius muscle, sternocleidomastoid muscle, splenius capitis muscle, and anterior temporal muscle) were investigated and the following results were obtained. In a comparison of the within group intervention effects of the two groups, cervical pain statistically significantly decreased in the cervical stretching exercise group. According to the results of analyzing the change of muscle tension in the upper trapezius muscle, both the cervical traction group and showed a statistically significant within group difference in the left and right side. According to the results of analyzing the change in the muscle tension of the splenius capitis muscle, both groups showed a statistically significant within group difference in the left and right side. In a betweengroup comparison, a statistically significant difference in the right side was observed. These results confirm that cervical vertebra traction and cervical stretching exercise decrease the cervical headache and muscle activity of the upper trapezius muscle and the splenius capitis muscle among patients with cervical hypolordosis.

The pheromone biosynthesis in Plutella xylostella is stimulated a neuropeptide, pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide which is produced in subesophageal ganglion. The pheromone production is more active in the scotophase than in the photophase, which suggests that there may be changes of gene expression in the pheromone glands. To analyze gene expression related to pheromone biosynthesis, we performed transcriptomes of pheromone glands which were isolated at every 4 h. Eleven pheromone biosynthesis-related genes, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, enoyl-CoA hydratase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, Δ9 desaturase, Δ11 desaturase, fatty acid reductase, alcohol oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and aldehyde reductase were identified. Among these genes, the expression of aldehyde reductase and aldehyde oxidase were relatively higher in the scotophase than in photophase, which may affect increase of pheromone production in the scotophase. Expression of signal genes involving in pheromone biosynthesis such as acyl-CoA desaturase, FAR, PBAN receptor, fatty acid transporter and acyl-CoA binding protein did not exhibited any significant difference.

A rapid cold hardening (RCH) and supercooling capacity usually play crucial roles in survival during the overwintering period in the tobacco budworm, Helicoverpa assulta, a freeze-susceptible species. Cryoprotectants such as polyol or sugar affect RCH and maintain fluid status of hemolymph. This study is performed to identify cryoprotectants as a RCH factor in H. assulta. Pre-exposure of H. assulta larvae to 4℃ significantly increased survival at -10℃ in all developmental stages from egg to adult. RCH was dependent on the duration of the pre-exposure period. RCH also significantly enhanced the supercooling capacity. Analysis of cryoprotectants from the hemolymph revealed that the pre-exposure treatment allowed the larvae to accumulate glycerol and trehalose among polyols examined. In addition, unknown materials from 2 peaks were also increased. TIC analysis revealed 3 predicted formulas for unknown materials, C26H24O20S or C3H4N6OS and C22H20O21. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and glycerol 3-phosphatase (G3P) that involving in glycerol biosynthesis were identified from the transcriptome of H. assulta 4th instar larvae. Based on the expression level of transcripts, the expressions of GPDH and G3P were relatively increased when compared to that of the control, suggesting that these genes contribute to overwintering and biosynthesis of glycerol.

The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of elasticity of taping on ankle muscles’activity and endurance after plyometric training that easily causes ankle injury, and provide baseline data for physical therapy intervention methods. The study subjects are 24 male students in their 20s who attend N University in Choongnam. They were divided into three groups; 8 subjects in the elastic taping group, 8 in the non-elastic taping group, and 8 in the non-taping group(control group). They had plyometric training for 6 weeks. After the training, this study measured their maximum voluntary isometric contraction(MVIC) and muscle endurance of the muscles around ankle joint. The experiment result is as follows. After the training, all three groups showed improvement in muscle strength and endurance. The elastic taping group showed insignificant improvement in muscle strength but significant increase in muscle endurance in plantarflexion. In dorsiflexion, both muscle strength and endurance increased significantly. The non-elastic taping group showed insignificant improvement in muscle strength but significant increase in muscle endurance in plantarflexion. Taping during plyometric training had a little or insignificant effect on muscle endurance and strength compared to the non-taping group.

The goal of this study was to assess the effect of a group exercise program on cognitive function of elderly people. Subjects were chosen to be elders with dementia having minor to moderate degrees of cognitive function. Study was started out by randomly dividing the 16 subjects into two groups, each with 8 people; the group exercise group and the control group. The group exercise group performed 8 weeks of group exercise program and general physiotherapy while the control group only performed general physiotherapy. Cognitive function was measured by Korean version mini-mental state examination. The study group's attention and calculation statistically significantly improved but the control group saw no statistically significant change. The group exercise program affected improvement in cognitive function of elderly people with dementia and in particular, was effective for enhancing their attention and calculation.

The purpose of this study was to analysis of the effect of proprioceptor training and vestibular organ training for balance ability. The subjects was consist of two different subjects group, proprioceptor training group and vestibular organ training group. Proprioceptor training group consisted of 10 subjects and vestibular organ training group consisted of 10 subjects. Training was performed 3 times per week, 30 minutes per day, for 3 weeks. Balance ability analysis was performed using Romberg's one leg standing test and BT4 when opened eyes and closed eyes. The analysis results were as follows. There was no significant differences in balance after the training in both groups when they opened their eyes(p<.05). But there was significant differences in balance after the training in both groups when they closed their eyes(p<.05). And there was no significant difference in balance after the training between the proprioceptor training group and the vestibular organ training group when they closed their eyes(p<.05). Given the above results, proprioceptor training and vestibular organ training enhanced balance but there was no significant difference between the two methods.

The purpose of this study is to observe how balance exercise on an unstable platform and on a stable platform affects balance ability. The subjects were 35 adults in their 20s and were randomly assigned to a stable platform group and an unstable platform group. They performed balance exercise three times per week for six weeks. Balance exercise introduced by previous research was modified and complemented for use in this study. Balance ability of the subjects was measured through center of pressure(COP) area, medial-lateral displacement, and anterior-posterior displacement using a portable balance platform BT4. There was significant difference in the COP area between the unstable platform exercise group and the stable platform exercise group. In comparison in differences between the unstable platform exercise group and the stable platform exercise group after the exercise, there was significant difference in anteriorposterior movement. Therefore, exercise on an unstable platform is more effective than exercise on a stable platform in strengthening balance ability.

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of Gastrocnemius and Low Back-muscle isotonic exercise on static•dynamic standing balance during the period of 4 weeks. This study was two groups pretest-posttest design. Nineteen subjects who were over 22 years old were randomly assigned to either the experimental group that received the Gastrocnemius muscle exercise(n=9) or the low back muscle exercise(n=10) : The former group performed isotonic exercise(plantar flexion), the latter group performed isotonic exercise(trunk extension) a total of 18 times for three times per week for four weeks. Two groups also performed static and dynamic balance before the exercise and 4weeks after the exercise. The data were analyzed by using the paired t-test and independent t-test. The results were as follows: As compared with change of dynamic balance performance capacity at two groups, a significant difference was shown in the test(p<.05), but not in static balance(p>.05). Also, a significant difference of balance between groups was not shown in the test. In this study indicated that gastrocnemius and low back muscle isotonic exercise will have positive impact on standing balance.

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.

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are family of innate immune molecules that recognize bacterial peptidoglycan. PGRP-LE, a member of the PGRP family, selectively binds to diaminopimelic acid (DAP)-type peptidoglycan to activate both the immune deficiency (IMD) and proPhenoloxidase (proPO) pathways in insects. A PGRP-LE-dependent induction of autophagy to control Listeria monocytogenes has also been reported. We identified and partially characterized a novel PGRP-LE homologue, from Tenebrio molitor and analyzed its functional role in the survival of the insect against infection by a DAP-type PGN containing intracellular pathogen, L. monocytogenes. The cDNA is comprised of an open reading frame (ORF) of 990 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 329 residues. TmPGRP-LE contains one PGRP domain, but lacks critical residues for amidase activity. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed a broad constitutive expression of the transcript at various stages of development spanning from larva to adult. RNAi mediated knockdown of the transcripts followed by a challenge with L. monocytogenes showed a significant reduction in survival rate of the larvae, suggesting a putative role of TmPGRP-LE in sensing and control of L. monocytogenes infections in T. molitor. These results implicate PGRP-LE as a defense protein necessary for survival of T. molitor against infection by L. monocytogenes.

Apolipophorin III (apoLp-III) is a well-known hemolymph protein having a functional role in lipid transport and immune response of insects. We cloned full-length cDNA encoding putative apoLp-III from larvae of the coleopteran beetle, Tenebrio molitor (TmapoLp-III), by identification of clones corresponding to the partial sequence of TmapoLp-III, subsequently followed with full length sequencing by a clone-by-clone primer walking method. The complete cDNA consists of 890 nucleotides, including an ORF encoding 196 amino acid residues. Excluding a putative signal peptide of the first 20 amino acid residues, the 176-residue mature apoLp-III has a calculated molecular mass of 19,146 Da. Genomic sequence analysis with respect to its cDNA showed that TmapoLp-III was organized into four exons interrupted by three introns. Several immune-related transcription factor binding sites were discovered in the putative 5’-flanking region. BLAST and phylogenetic analysis reveals that TmapoLp-III has high sequence identity (88%) with Tribolium castaneum apoLp-III but shares little sequence homologies (<26%) with other apoLp-IIIs. Homology modeling of Tm apoLp-III shows a bundle of five amphipathic helices, including a short helix 3’. The ‘helix-short helix-helix’ motif was predicted to be implicated in lipid binding interactions, through reversible conformational changes and accommodating the hydrophobic residues to the exterior for stability. Highest level of TmapoLp-III mRNA was detected at late pupal stages, albeit it is expressed in the larval and adult stages at lower levels. The tissue specific expression of the transcripts showed significantly higher numbers in larval fat body and adult integument. In addition, TmapoLp-III mRNA was found to be highly up-regulated in late stages of L. monocytogenes or E. coli challenge. These results indicate that TmapoLp-III may play an important role in innate immune responses against bacterial pathogens in T. molitor.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of pelleted-Italian Ryegrass (IRG) as a source of fiber on reproduction performance in pregnant sows. A total of 24 pregnant sows were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, which was given a corn-soybean diet with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% pelleted-IRG from 105 days prepartum to 7 days postpartum. During experimental period, the sows fed the IRG supplemented diet showed the lower feed intake than the sows fed the control diet (p<0.05). The changes of body weight in sows from initial to pre- and/or post-partum was significantly smaller in sows fed the IRG supplemented diet than control group. It is thought that the lower weight gain in IRG supplemented groups is caused by low feed intake. Although there was no significant difference, sows fed the IRG supplemented diet tended to increase the litter size and birth weight in piglets compared with sows fed the control diet. This result suggests that the dietary supplementation of IRG has the positive effects to improve the reproductive performance in sows. But, the excessive feeding of IRG to sows might cause to retard the days of return to estrus, and decrease the contents of solid, milk protein, and milk fat in colostrum. Thus, the addition of about 10% IRG is desirable to increase the reproductive performance. Meanwhile, the feeding energy diet is better effective than feeding the fiber diets to improve overall productivity in sows after postpartum.

The cultivation methods of Acanthopanax in Korea need to be optimized. Hence, this study investigated the effect of different fertilizer ratios and planting dates on the growth and acanthoside D content of two (2) Acanthopanax species. The current recommended fertilizer rate of 10.5-8.5-8.5 kg/ha- (N-P2O5-K2O, respectively) produced the best plant growth of Acanthopanax. For the first year, the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P (2x phosphate) rate was higher than that from the other fertilizer ratios, yet there were no significant differences resulting from the various treatments for either Acanthopanax divaricatus or Acanthopanax koreanum. Similarly, for the second year, there were no significant differences in the acanthoside D content resulting from the various fertilizer ratios, although for both species the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P rate was slightly higher than that from the other treatments. Therefore, the results indicated that doubling the amount of phosphate increased the acanthoside D content. Plus, the optimum planting date with respect to growth and productivity for Acanthopanax divaricatus was identified as April 15. The cultivation methods of Acanthopanax in Korea need to be optimized. Hence, this study investigated the effect of different fertilizer ratios and planting dates on the growth and acanthoside D content of two (2) Acanthopanax species. The current recommended fertilizer rate of 10.5-8.5-8.5 kg/ha- (N-P2O5-K2O, respectively) produced the best plant growth of Acanthopanax. For the first year, the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P (2x phosphate) rate was higher than that from the other fertilizer ratios, yet there were no significant differences resulting from the various treatments for either Acanthopanax divaricatus or Acanthopanax koreanum. Similarly, for the second year, there were no significant differences in the acanthoside D content resulting from the various fertilizer ratios, although for both species the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P rate was slightly higher than that from the other treatments. Therefore, the results indicated that doubling the amount of phosphate increased the acanthoside D content. Plus, the optimum planting date with respect to growth and productivity for Acanthopanax divaricatus was identified as April 15. The cultivation methods of Acanthopanax in Korea need to be optimized. Hence, this study investigated the effect of different fertilizer ratios and planting dates on the growth and acanthoside D content of two (2) Acanthopanax species. The current recommended fertilizer rate of 10.5-8.5-8.5 kg/ha- (N-P2O5-K2O, respectively) produced the best plant growth of Acanthopanax. For the first year, the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P (2x phosphate) rate was higher than that from the other fertilizer ratios, yet there were no significant differences resulting from the various treatments for either Acanthopanax divaricatus or Acanthopanax koreanum. Similarly, for the second year, there were no significant differences in the acanthoside D content resulting from the various fertilizer ratios, although for both species the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P rate was slightly higher than that from the other treatments. Therefore, the results indicated that doubling the amount of phosphate increased the acanthoside D content. Plus, the optimum planting date with respect to growth and productivity for Acanthopanax divaricatus was identified as April 15. The cultivation methods of Acanthopanax in Korea need to be optimized. Hence, this study investigated the effect of different fertilizer ratios and planting dates on the growth and acanthoside D content of two (2) Acanthopanax species. The current recommended fertilizer rate of 10.5-8.5-8.5 kg/ha- (N-P2O5-K2O, respectively) produced the best plant growth of Acanthopanax. For the first year, the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P (2x phosphate) rate was higher than that from the other fertilizer ratios, yet there were no significant differences resulting from the various treatments for either Acanthopanax divaricatus or Acanthopanax koreanum. Similarly, for the second year, there were no significant differences in the acanthoside D content resulting from the various fertilizer ratios, although for both species the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P rate was slightly higher than that from the other treatments. Therefore, the results indicated that doubling the amount of phosphate increased the acanthoside D content. Plus, the optimum planting date with respect to growth and productivity for Acanthopanax divaricatus was identified as April 15. The cultivation methods of Acanthopanax in Korea need to be optimized. Hence, this study investigated the effect of different fertilizer ratios and planting dates on the growth and acanthoside D content of two (2) Acanthopanax species. The current recommended fertilizer rate of 10.5-8.5-8.5 kg/ha- (N-P2O5-K2O, respectively) produced the best plant growth of Acanthopanax. For the first year, the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P (2x phosphate) rate was higher than that from the other fertilizer ratios, yet there were no significant differences resulting from the various treatments for either Acanthopanax divaricatus or Acanthopanax koreanum. Similarly, for the second year, there were no significant differences in the acanthoside D content resulting from the various fertilizer ratios, although for both species the acanthoside D content resulting from the 2P rate was slightly higher than that from the other treatments. Therefore, the results indicated that doubling the amount of phosphate increased the acanthoside D content. Plus, the optimum planting date with respect to growth and productivity for Acanthopanax divaricatus was identified as April 15.