Background: Canine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an attractive source for veterinary regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug development. Here we used vitamin C (Vc) to improve the reprogramming efficiency of canine iPSCs, and its functions in the reprogramming process were elucidated. Methods: Retroviral transduction of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc (OSKM), and GFP was employed to induce reprogramming in canine fetal fibroblasts. Following transduction, the culture medium was subsequently replaced with ESC medium containing Vc to determine the effect on reprogramming activity. Results: The number of AP-positive iPSC colonies dramatically increased in culture conditions supplemented with Vc. Vc enhanced the efficacy of retrovirus transduction, which appears to be correlated with enhanced cell proliferation capacity. To confirm the characteristics of the Vc-treated iPSCs, the cells were cultured to passage 5, and pluripotency markers including Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Tra-1-60 were observed by immunocytochemistry. The expression of endogenous pluripotent genes (Oct4, Nanog, Rex1, and telomerase) were also verified by PCR. The complete silencing of exogenously transduced human OSKM factors was observed exclusively in canine iPSCs treated with Vc. Canine iPSCs treated with Vc are capable of forming embryoid bodies in vitro and have spontaneously differentiated into three germ layers. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize a straightforward method for enhancing the efficiency of canine iPSC generation and provide insight into the Vc effect on the reprogramming process.

The mobility of radionuclides in the subsurface environment is governed by a interaction of radioactivity characteristics and geochemical conditions with adsorption reactions playing a critical role. This study investigates the characteristics and mechanisms of radionuclides adsorption on site media in viewpoint of nuclear safety, particularly focusing on the potential effect of seawater infiltration in coastal site near nuclear power plant. Seawater intrusion alters the chemistry in groundwater, including parameters such as pH, redox potential, and ionic strength, thereby affecting the behavior of radionuclides. To assess the safety of site near nuclear power plant and the environmental implications of nuclide leakage, this research conducted various experiments to evaluate the behavior of radionuclides in the subsurface environment. High distribution coefficients (50-2,500 ml/g) were observed at 10 mg/L Co, with montmorillonite > hydrobiotite > illite > kaolinite. It decreased with competing cations (Ca2+) and was found to decrease significantly by 90% with a decrease in pH to 4. It is believed that the adsorption capacity of cationic radionuclides decreases significantly as the clay mineral surface becomes less negatively charged. For Cs, the distribution coefficient (180-560 ml/g) was higher for montmorillonite > hydrobiotite > illite > kaolinite. Compared to Co, it was found to be less influenced by pH and more influenced by competing cations. For Sr, the distribution coefficient (100-380 ml/g) was higher in the order of hydrobiotite > montmorillonite > illite > kaolinite. Compared to Cs, it was found to be less affected by pH and also less affected by the effect of competing cations compared to Cs. Seawater samples from Gampo and Uljin site near Nuclear Power Plant in Korea were analyzed to determine their chemical composition, which was subsequently used in adsorption experiments. Additionally, the seawater-infiltrated groundwater was synthesized in laboratory according to previous literature. The study focused on the adsorption and behavior of three key radionuclides such as cesium, strontium, and cobalt onto four low permeability media (clay minerals) such as kaolinite, illite, hydrobiotite, and montmorillonite known for their high adsorption capacity at a site of nuclear power plant. At concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L, the adsorption coefficients followed the order of cobalt > cesium > strontium for each radionuclide. Notably, the distribution coefficient (Kd) values exhibited higher values in seawater-infiltrated groundwater environments compared to seawater with relatively high ionic strength. Cobalt exhibited a substantial adsorption coefficient, with a marked decrease in Kd values in seawater conditions due to elevated ionic strength. In contrast, cesium displayed less dependency on seawater compared to other radionuclides, suggesting distinct adsorption mechanisms, possibly involving fractured edge sites (FES) in clay. Strontium exhibited a significant reduction in adsorption in seawater compared to groundwater in all Kd sorption experiments. The adsorption data of cobalt, cesium, and strontium on clay minerals in contact with seawater and seawater-infiltrated solutions offer valuable insights for assessing radioactive contamination of groundwater beneath coastal site near nuclear power plant sites. This research provides a foundation for enhancing the safety assessment protocols of nuclear power plant sites, considering the potential effects of seawater infiltration on radionuclide behavior in the subsurface environment.

DNA 바코드를 기반으로 하여 외국발 국내 입항 선박에서 검출되는 편승자 해충(hitchhiker insect pests)에 대한 모니터링을 수행하였다. 국내 입항 선박 조사는 2018년 6월 1일부터 2018년 9월 17일까지 약 109일간 111개 선박에 대해 실시하였다. 모니터링 대상 해충은 ‘보고잡기법(simply collecting method by hands)’으로 확보하였으며, 총 336개체에 대해 종동정을 실시하였으며, 이를 통해 확보된 정보들은 선박정보(선박명, 선박번호, 출항지, 입항지), 조사정보(조 사일, 채집시 표본 상태, 조사자), 유전자 분석 정보(프라이머 정보, 서열판독 결과), 분자생물학적 종동정 정보(NCBI GenBank Accession No., NCBI Blast Searching Results, BOLD Identification Request), 분류학적 통합종 확증 정보(목명, 과명, 종명, 동정자, 비고) 등으로 구분하였으며, MS-Excel을 이용하여 각 필드값에 맞게 기초정보를 입력하였다. 이를 기반으로 하여 편승자 해충에 대한 선박 경로에 따른 편승 양상뿐만 아니라, 월별, 분류군별, 미서식종별로 편승 양상을 분석하였다. 그 결과, 편승사례는 선박 경로에 따라서는 중국에서 출항하거나 중국을 거쳐 편승하는 사례가 207건, 월별로는 9월이 134건, 분류군별로는 나비목이 208건으로 가장 많았다. 특히, 미서식종별 편승 양상에서 는 총 3목 9과 13종 21개체가 국내 입항 선박에서 검출된 것으로 나타났으며, 이 중 2목 6과 9종 15개체는 살아있는 상태로 채집된 것을 확인되었다. 이와 같은 결과로 볼 때, 앞으로 더욱 많은 정보가 확보된다면, 현재의 통계 분석 방법은 편승자 해충의 모니터링뿐만 아니라 대상 해충의 위험성 평가 및 검역검사에 매우 효율적인 정보를 제공할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

The oriental fruit fly is a major polyphagous insect pest with a worldwide distribution. We investigated the development time, survivorship, longevity and fecundity of B. dorsalis at six different temperatures. We applied the computer programs – TWOSEX-MSChart and TIMING-MSChart - to analyze our data. We obtained the population parameters – adult preoviposition period (APOP), total preoviposition period (TPOP), oviposition days, eggs per reproductive female, first age of survival rate <50%, proportion of male and female individuals, propoortion of N-type individual, and life table parameters (net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase, and mean generation time) - and population projection using two computer programs.

본 연구의 조사지역인 갑천은 충청남도 금산군·논산시와 대전광역시를 북류하고 금강으로 흘러드는 도심하천이다. 광대한 갈대 군락과 초원, 버드나무 등 다양한 식생이 분포하며 크고 작은 자연 소택지, 늪, 웅덩이 등의 형태로 자연환경이 잘 보존되어 도시생태계의 주요 기능을 담당하고 있다. 본 연구에서 갑천 일대의 육상곤충류를 대상으로 4월 11~13일, 6월 11~12일, 8월 20~22일 조사를 수행하였다. 조사방법은 직접찾기와 쓸어잡기로, 총 9개 지점으로 나누어 군집 분석하였다. 조사 결과 공단구역인 Site3의 다양성지수가 0.16으로 매우 낮았으며 도심구역인 Site4와 Site7이 각각 다양성지수 2.92와 2.41로 타구역에 비해 낮았다. 반면 산림구역인 Site1, Site8 그리고 Site9는 모두 다양성지수가 3이상으로 높은 편에 속했다.

The Celyphidae, commonly known as beetle flies or beetle-backed flies, are a family of Diptera. The scutellum is enlarged and forming a protective shell over the abdomen, giving them a beetle-like appearance. Species in the family are mostly found in tropical region, especially in South East Asia. Records of North East Asia are rare, in China, some species are found in Southern region. In Japan, few species found in Okinawa region, but only one record of Celyphidae near in mainland area. In this research we firstly record specimen of genus Spaniocelyphus sp., from Korea stored in National Science Museum Korea and Kyongpook National University with comparison of specimen from Tsushima island, Nagasaki prefecture stored in Osaka Natural History Museum.

Gonggeom-ji is designated wetland protected area by the Ministry of Environment of Korea in 2011 because of it’s high biodiversity and historic value. It contains a reservoir, paddy and forest site which has diverse niches for insects. Three transect lines of 50m were designated. Data were collected in May, October, November in 2017 represented as seasons for spring, summer and autumn respectively. Quantitative methods were conducted along each transect line by sweeping and pitfall trap. Based on this study total of 1079 individuals of insect fauna were collected, representing 170 species in 60 families and 8 orders. The highest diversity, richness and evenness index were observed in the forest site in May(4.77, 8.6 and 0.91 respectively) and the highest dominance index was observed in the forest site in November(0.64). The highest similarity index was observed in the reservoir site in May and August(0.519).

상주는 귀농 도시이자 농업 중심 도시로써 농업기술원을 유치할 만큼 생태학적 연구가치가 있는 친환경 도시이다. 특히 경천섬은 낙동강 본류에 있는 상주보 인근에 위치하고 있어 낙동강 생태 환경 연구의 중요 지역 중 하나이다. 하지만, 아직 경천섬에 대한 생물다양성 연구가 부족한 상태이다. 섬과 산지의 생태환경이 다르기 때문에 생물의 다양성도 다를 것이라 간주하고, 경천섬 주변의 생태학적 가치를 재조명할 기초자료를 조사하고자 한다. 이에 경천섬과 인근에 위치한 청룡사 길목 산지에 서식하는 곤충 채집을 통해 생물다양성을 조사하여 비교분석하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 채집방법은 직접잡기, 쓸어잡기, 함정트랩, 흡충관을 이용하였으며, 함정트랩에 사용된 유인제는 소주1.8ℓ와 빙초산350㎖를 혼합하여 사용하였다. 2018년 4월~8월 중 3회 채집과정을 수행하여 목표개체수를 확보하였고, 채집된 곤충은 에탄올을 채운 conical tube에 넣어 냉동실에 보관하여 보존성을 높였다. 채집과정에서 잡은 곤충들을 건조시키고 유사종끼리 분류하고 동정하는 과정을 거쳐 다양도지수, 우점도지수, 종풍부도지수, 종균등도지수, 유사도지수를 계산할 것이다. 기존에 알려지지 않았던 경천섬 일대의 생물다양성을 세세하게 분석하는 과정을 통해 경천섬의 생태학적 가치를 드러내고, 경천섬 일대의 자연환경관리와 보존에 필요한 정보나 체계적인 관리체계를 구축할 기초자료를 제공하고자 한다.

The oriental fruit fly is a major polyphagous insect pest with a worldwide distribution. The effects of temperature on stage-specific development were investigated at eight constant temperatures (13.0, 14.4, 16.2, 19.5, 23.8, 27.7, 31.8 and 34.8℃). Stage-specific lower developmental thresholds and thermal constants were determined using linear regression. The lower and higher temperature threshold (TL and TH) were estimated using the Sharpe-Schoolfield-Ikemoto (SSI) model. The daily adult emergence frequency of B. dorsalis was estimated in relation to adult age and temperature. Thermal performance was compared among B. dorsalis populations from different locations in Taiwan.

본 조사는 채집방법에 따른 곤충군집을 비교하기 위해 공검지 습지보호지역 내에서 쓸어잡기, 함정트랩, 버킷트랩 세 가지 방법을 이용하였다. 조사 시기는 5월 15~16일, 8월 3~4일, 11월 6~7일 총 3회 실시하였으며, 조사는 보호지역 중심부에서 실시하였다. 본 연구결과 세 방법으로 총 7목 51과 110속 120종 14,717개체가 채집되었다. 채집방법별로 쓸어잡기에서 4목 25과 36속 37종 331개체, 함정트랩에서 3목 12과 18속 19종 30개체, 버킷트랩에서 6목, 38과 76속, 84종, 14,121개체가 조사되었다. 군집 분석결과 다양도 지수는 쓸어잡기가 3.63으로 가장 높게 나타났으며 풍부도 지수는 버킷트랩이 8.69로 가장 높게 나타났다. 유사도 지수는 세 방법이 서로 0.2이하로 매우 낮았다.

This study is carried out to know the insect diversity at Gonggeomji wetland in Sangju city where the first designated as a rice paddy wetland protection area from Ministry of Environment of Korea. As the results, 330 species of 234 genera belonging to 90 families in 10 orders were collected and a total of 1,327 individuals were surveyed in this study. Among them, highest collection ratio was 54. 3% (162 species) of Coleoptera, next order was 22% (66 species) of Hemiptera. In seasonal variation, 28 species were surveyed in the first quarter, 81 in the second, 78 in the third, and 87 in the fourth. Ancylopus pictus asiaticus in Coleoptera, Nysius (Nysius) plebejus in Hemiptera were the most dominant species. As a diversity analyses, species diversity index (H'), dominance index(DI), species richness index and evenness index (EI) were provided in here.

Hyperacture rejection (HAR) of pig organs, upon xenotransplantation into primates, could partly be overcome by knocking out the alpha-Gal gene. However, xenotransplanted organs may still undergo immunological acture rejection (AR) or acute vascular rejection (AVR). Among several genes involved in AR and AVR, the hCD47 evades the monocyte/ macrophage mediated phagocytosis by identifying the self/non-self signal (CD47-SIRPa) whereas hTFPI participates in the regulation of coagulation pathway by acting upstream of the thrombin. In this study, we investigated hCD47 and hTFPI as two possible candidates for avoiding AR and AVR, respectively upon pig-to-human xenotransplantation. A co-expression vector for hCD47 and hTFPI was constructed using 2A peptides system (F2A) and transfected into the porcine kidney cell line (PK-15). The transfected cells stably expressed both hCD47 and hTFPI mRNA and proteins. Co-culture of non-transfected, hCD47-transfected, hTFPI-transfected or hCD47+hTPFI-transfected PK15 cells with natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes and macrophages confirmed the cytotoxic effect of hCD47 and revealed a synergistic effect of hCD47 and hTFPI co-transfection. There was an attractive survivability of 25～30% on each type of innate immune cell, NK cell and macrophage. These results suggest that transgenic pigs, genetically modified for hCD47 and hTFPI may be useful for overcoming xenograft rejection. Furthermore, cotransfection with hTFPI may enhance the cytotoxic effect of hCD47, possibly by assisting the hCD47-SIRPa binding by an unknown mechanism.

The mannanase, cellulase and xylanase-producing thermophilic bacteria, designated EJ3, was isolated from fresh spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates taken from the DOJUN farm located in Keyongnam, Korea. The isolate EJ3 was facultatively anaerobic and grew at temperature ranging from 20℃ to 60℃ with an optimal temperature of 37℃. The DNA G+C content of the isolate EJ3 was 45 mlo%. The major fatty acids were anteiso-15:0 (38.9%), 17:0 (7.4%), and iso-15:0 (38.2%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the isolate EJ3 and other Bacillus strains varied from 97% to 99%. In the phylogenetic analysis based on these sequences, the isolate EJ3 and Bacillus subtilis clustered within a group and separated from other species of Bacillus. Based on the physiological and molecular properties, the isolate EJ3 was classified within the genus Bacillus as Bacillus subtilis EJ3. The optimal growth condition of B. subtilis EJ3 were pH 6.0 and 55℃, respectively.

This study was conducted to evaluate the feeding value of the spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates (SMS) in laying hens (Hy-Line Brown). The fresh spent mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates collected from the DOJUN farm were fermented with Bacillus subtilis EJ3 for 2 weeks. A total of twenty-four laying hens were fed corn-soy based experimental diets containing 0% (control), 5% (T1), 10% (T2) and 15%(T3) fermented SMS for 7 weeks. There were no significant differences among the treatments in egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion and viability during the experimental period. Feed intake was significantly lowered in control (118.3 g) than T1 (121.9 g), T2 (120.3 g) and T3 (122.4 g). There were no significant differences among the treatments eggshell breaking strength, thickness and haugh unit, whereas the yolk color of T1, T2 and T3 were significantly heavy than T0. The palatability of boiled meat was significantly better in the T3 laying hens than in the T0 laying hens. In conclusion, fermented SMS can be used as resource of feed in laying hen feed at 5.0-15% level without effect on performance and egg qualify.