We present an analysis of the chemical abundances and kinematics of six low-mass dwarf stars, previously claimed to be candidate hypervelocity stars (HVSs). We obtained moderate-resolution ($R\sim6000$) spectra of these stars to estimate the abundances of several chemical elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni), and derived their space velocities and orbital parameters using proper motions from the \gaia\ Data Release 2. All six stars are shown to be bound to the Milky Way, and in fact are not even considered high-velocity stars with respect to the Galactic rest frame. Nevertheless, we attempt to characterize their parent Galactic stellar components by simultaneously comparing their element abundance patterns and orbital parameters with those expected from various Galactic stellar components. We find that two of our program stars are typical disk stars. For four stars, even though their kinematic probabilistic membership assignment suggests membership in the Galactic disk, based on their distinct orbit l properties and chemical characteristics, we cannot rule out exotic origins as follows. Two stars may be runaway stars from the Galactic disk. One star has possibly been accreted from a disrupted dwarf galaxy or dynamically heated from a birthplace in the Galactic bulge. The last object may be either a runaway disk star or has been dynamically heated. Spectroscopic follow-up observations with higher resolution for these curious objects will provide a better understanding of their origin.

A previous studies depicting origin and sequence variability of the species using DNA barcoding region with the samples collected from Korea showed relatively low sequence variability. Thus, additional markers that reveal higher variability were necessitated to scrutinize population structure in connection with dispersal and invasive dynamics among international populations. Therefore, we sequenced two complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of M. pruinosa from the two haplotypes occurring in Korea (H1 and H3). Comparison of the two mitogenomes each with 16,312 and 16,314 bp evidenced that one region located in the A+T-rich region to provide higher number of haplotypes (4 vs. 3), sequence divergence (1.636% vs. 0.636%), and variable sites (7 vs. 3) than those of DNA barcoding region from the screening test using 13 representative individuals. This variable region, in concatenation with the currently available DNA barcoding region might be useful for population genetic analysis of worldwide populations including those of Korea. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

To verify the progenitor of B. mori, we sequenced 14 B. mori strains preserved in Korea and one B. mandarina collected in Korea and conducted phylogenetic analysis of Bombycidae using maximum-likelihood method and concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes. All B. mori strains, regardless of their origin, formed a strong monophyletic group, with the highest nodal support. This B. mori group was placed as the sister to the two B. mandarina collected each from Korea and Shandong, China with the highest nodal support. Finally, the remaining two B. mandarina, which were collected in Japan were independently placed as the most basal lineage of B. mori and B. mandarina group. These results appear to indicate that an immediate ancestor for the domestic silkworm strains may have been originated from China and Korea.

In this study, we sequenced two complete mitogenomes, belonging to the families Scythrididae (Scythris sinensis Felder & Rogenhofer, 1775) and Coleophoridae (Coleophora therinella Tengström, 1848) firstly in each family. Gelechioidea is one of the controversial lineages of Lepidoptera in its phylogenetic position and number of families. Phylogenetic analyses with concatenated sequences of the 13 PCGs and two RNA genes using the maximum likelihood method, placed Coleophoridae, represented only by C. therinella, as a sister group to the families Depressariidae and Autostichidae, with very low nodal support (7%). Scythrididae represented only by S. sinensis was placed as the sister to the family Stathmopodidae, with relatively high nodal support (86%). As more mitogenome sequences from the extended taxonomic groups are obtained further robust phylogenetic inference will be possible.

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is an economically important pest, which harms various kinds of important agricultural crops, such as tomato. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of ionizing radiations (electron beam, X-ray, gamma-ray) on the development and reproduction of H. armigera and to determine the optimal dose of three ionizing radiations for the construction of quarantine technology applicable to tomato export.

거미는 산림 및 농작물 해충의 천적으로 알려져 있으며, 겨울철 벼 재배지에서 볏짚이나 논둑 등에 월동한다. 이 연구는 월동시기부터 모내기 전까지 유기 벼 재배지에 서식하는 거미상을 알아보기 위해 수행하였다. 거미의 발생을 조사하기 위해 함정트랩을 이용하였고, 농업과학원 유기재배포장에서 2018년 1월 중순부터 5월 중순까지 2주 간격으로 총 8회에 걸쳐 거미를 채집하였다. 조사가 이루어진 논은 거미가 월동 서식처로 이용할 수 있도록 볏짚을 걷어내지 않은 상태로 유지하였다. 조사 결과 6과 15종 359개체의 거미가 채집되었다. 그 중에서 애접시거미가 119개체(33%)로 가장 많았고, 들늑대거미(23%), 턱거미(17%), 각시긴손접시거미(8%) 순으로 나타났다. 또한 4월 중순(7회)에 가장 많은 개체가 채집되었고, 채집이 이루어질수록 거미의 개체수가 증가하는 경향을 보였다.

The incidence of stomach cancer has been found to be gradually decreasing; however, it remains one of the most frequently occurring malignant cancers in Korea. According to statistics of 2017, stomach cancer is the top cancer in men and the fourth most important cancer in women, necessitating methods for its early detection and treatment. Considerable research in the field of bioinformatics has been conducted in cancer studies, and bioinformatics approaches might help develop methods and models for its early prediction. We aimed to develop a classification method based on deep learning and demonstrate its application to gene expression data obtained from patients with stomach cancer. Data of 60,483 genes from 334 patients with stomach cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas were evaluated by principal component analysis, heatmaps, and the convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm. We combined the RNA-seq gene expression data with clinical data, searched candidate genes, and analyzed them using the CNN deep learning algorithm. We performed learning using the sample type and vital status of patients with stomach cancer and verified the results. We obtained an accuracy of 95.96% for sample type and 50.51% for vital status. Despite overfitting owing to the limited number of patients, relatively accurate results for sample type were obtained. This approach can be used to predict the prognosis of stomach cancer, which has many types and underlying causes.

To test the muscle cell specific gene expression, we examined the ability of human α-skeletal muscle actin (ACTA) promoter or human myoglobin (hMb) promoter to direct the expression of the GFP gene in both muscle and non-muscle cells, respectively. C2C12 cells, a mouse myoblast cell line, provide a powerful model to study skeletal muscle differentiation in vitro. We intended to use this cell line as a model for skeletal muscle-specific gene expression during myogenic differentiation from myoblast to myotubes. We compared marker gene expression profiles of proliferating and differentiated C2C12 cells using RT-PCR and fluorescent microscopy analysis. Also, we found that the expression of PCK1 gene under the control of ACTA promoter was proportionally increased as C2C12 differentiated into myotube form. PCK1 is involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis. In previous research, transgenic mice with overexpressing PCK1 in skeletal muscle showed a greatly enhanced level of physical activity, which extends well into old age. This is due, in part, to an increased number of mitochondria and a high concentration of triglyceride in their skeletal muscles. These mice also had very little body fat, despite eating 60% more than controls. We also constructed a mesenchymal stem cell line and fetal fibroblast cell line for the experiments aiming to make transgenic animals in which the PCK1 gene is specifically expressed in muscle tissue. Accumulated knowledge of this approach could be applicable to a variety of related biological areas including transgenic animal research, gene function study, anti-aging study, etc. This work was supported by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through Export Promotion Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (316002-5).

Whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) pests, including the tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, are economically important in agriculture. With the annual growth of the domestic fresh fruit export market, various quarantine treatment methods are being used to export strawberries of better quality. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of gamma rays on the development and reproductive sterility of B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum. In both species, the eggs were completely inhibited from hatching at 50 Gy, and the emergence of 3rd instar nymphs was completely suppressed at 150 Gy. Some adult B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum spawning occurred at 100 Gy and 70 Gy, respectively; however, at these irradiation levels, F1 hatchability was completely inhibited. Dosimetry results showed that the penetrating power of gamma ray in the strawberry-filled box was the lowest at the mid-box position. Therefore, B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum were placed in the middle of the strawberry-filled box and irradiated. A gamma-ray irradiation of 100 Gy suppressed the development and reproduction of eggs and adults in both B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum. However, the development of 3rd instar nymphs was inhibited at 300 Gy for B. tabaci and 200 Gy for T. vaporariorum. Our data suggest that at least 300 Gy should be used for the control of these two types of whitefly for strawberry export.

Various plant extracts were widely used to control plant diseases and insect pests in organic farming system. This study was conducted to evaluate insecticidal activity of plant extracts against three moth in vitro. Insecticidal activity of 21 kinds of farm-made plant extracts including snowbell tree, sweet oleander leaf, sweet oleander and white cedar, collected from farmhouses were tested against diamondback moth (Plutella xypostella) and tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura) larvae. In addition, four plant extracts (pyrethrum flower, derris, neem and Sophora flavescens) were tested for insecticidal activity against Potato tuber moth (Phthouimaea operculella) larvae. As a result of insecticidal test on diamondback moth, insecticidal activity of pyrethrum flower extract was found to be 50% or more in diluted 100 times. The insecticidal activities against tobacco cutworm were 92.5% at snowbell tree extract, 77.5% at the sweet oleander leaf and white cedar extracts. Among the plant extracts, insecticidal activity of 300 times-diluted pyrethrum flower and derris extract was 85%, neem and Sophora flavescens extracts were similar to non-treatment. Consequently, pyrethrum flower extract and snowbell tree, sweet oleander leaf, white cedar extracts and pyrethrum flower, derris extracts for controlling diamondback moth and tobacco cutworm and potato tuber moth were selected. We think the selected organic materials can be used to control diamondback moth and tobacco cutworm, potato tuber moth under organic farmhouse condition.

Earthworms have been employed in traditional oriental medicine for the treatment of neurological disorders, as anticonvulsants, analgesics, and sedatives. In fact, earthworms are currently used as a medicinal agent in China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and North Korea. However, both the species and the genus of the earthworms registered in the pharmacopoeia of each country are different. Neural injury is induced by oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. The role of various synthetic chemicals of earthworms as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents have been studied and earthworm extract and its components have been shown to protect nerve cells and restore nerve function in various preclinical neuronal damage models. We employed earthworm extracts to provide prevention and treatment strategies for many neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease, mild cognitive impairment, cerebral infarction, and peripheral nerve damage. In this study, we investigated the effects of earthworm extracts and its components to explore their prophylactic and therapeutic effects in various neuropathic models. We used earthworm resources to provide prevention and treatment strategies for many neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease, mild cognitive impairment, cerebral infarction, and peripheral nerve damage. We summarized the protective effects of both earthworms and their extracts on neuropathies. The current study identified some earthworm components to be used in treatment and prevention strategies for nerve disorders and could be helpful for the development of new therapies for intractable diseases.

The Semi-Rigid Pavement (SRP) mixture is composed of Gap Graded Asphalt (GGA) mixture (air void = 20~28%) and cement paste. By inserting cement paste into voids in GGA mixture, SRP can provide not only flexibility but also rigidity characteristics on pavement performance. SRP can mitigate pavement surface temperature increase during summer session, provide better smoothness and mitigate rutting distress due to heavy weight vehicles, successfully. In Japan, SRP is widely applied in cross section area, heavy vehicle parking lot and highway ticketing booth in highway network system. In South Korea, SRP was introduced and applied since 2005. However, still more researches and studies are needed to understand material characteristics and improve performance of SRP. Moreover, the current SRP system in South Korea merely follows and adapts the aggregate gradation information from Japan which needs to be amended and customized into original material (i.e. aggregate, binder and cement) situation of South Korea. In this paper, SRP system based on Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) mixture design originated from Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) and enhanced cement paste with addition of fly-ash and slags was developed. In addition, an optimized proportion between asphalt mixture air voids and cement paste amount with consideration of economic benefit was introduced. Based on field evaluation process it can be said that the newly developed SRP system can successfully adapted not only in static site on highway: parking lots or ticketing booth, but also in dynamic site on highway: driving and wheel path.

In case of performing asphalt pavement overlay on existing concrete pavement layer, applying asphalt emulsion tack-coating or spreading prime-coating is considered to improve adhesion between asphalt and concrete layer. After coating work is done a curing process is considered not only for promoting evaporation process in coated (and/or spread) asphalt emulsion, but also for generating a membrane which can act as a bonding agent. Finally, asphalt overlay construction is performed when this curing process is completely done. However, during asphalt overlay construction process remarkable amount of spread tack-coating layer is lost due to asphalt material transfer vehicles (e.g. trucks, approximately 40~50% of total spread tack coating material is lost). In this paper, a new pavement equipment contains simultaneous asphalt emulsion spreading ability and corresponding construction techniques are introduced. Through applying this equipment, non-stop two step sequent working process: spreading asphalt emulsion on to existing concrete pavement layer then paving asphalt material for overlay construction, is available. During pavement working process temperature of asphalt material was kept with ranged between 130ºC and 170ºC. After performing field performance evaluation, it was found that crucial improvement in pavement layer adhesion, crack and rutting resistant ability were observed compared to the conventional paving method.

최근 봄철 기온이 높아짐에 따라 마늘 뿌리응애 피해가 늘어나고 있는 실정이다. 이러한 뿌리응애 피해를 최소하 하고자 발생양상과 22종의 약제에 대하여 살비효과를 조사하였다. 마늘 재배시기 중 뿌리응애의 발생은 충북 보은 등 5지역에서 2015년부터 2017년까지 3년간 3월부터 6월까지 뿌리응애 발생밀도를 조사하여 발생양상을 확인하였다. 뿌리응애는 2016년에 가장 많이 발생하였으며, 발생시기는 월동 후 3월 상순부터 발생하여 6월 중순경까지 지속적으로 밀도가 높아지는 양상을 나타내었다. 조사된 5지역 중 가장 높은 밀도로 조사된 보은지역은 6월 상순경 주당 13.3마리가 발생하였다. 뿌리응애에 대하여 우수한 살비효과를 나타낸 약제는 분무처리시 약제처리 10일 후에서 dimethoate, azocyclotin, abamectin, hexythiazox, cabosulfan, spirotetramat, benfuracarb가 90% 이상의 살비효과를 나타내었다

본 연구는 고농도 CO2 환경에 순응한 호접란 유묘의 CO2 교환 및 생장 반응을 조사하기 위해 실시하였다. 환경 조절이 가능한 식물생장상에서 6주령 호접란 ‘만천홍’을 27주 동안 야간에 각각 400 ± 100, 900 ± 100, 1500 ± 100, 2100 ± 100μmol CO2·mol-1 농도로 유지해주었다. 처리에 앞서 발달해 있었던 최상위 성숙엽으로 측정한 야간 중 CO2 흡수량은 900μmol CO2·mol-1 처리구에서 가장 높았고, 이어 2100, 1500, 400μmol CO2·mol-1 순으로 높았다. 그러나 처리 7주 이후 새로 발달한 성숙엽에서 측정한 결과, 2100μmol CO2·mol-1 처리구가 야간 중 가장 높은 CO2 흡수량을 보였으며, CO2의 흡수량은 처리 CO2 농도가 높아질수록 증가하는 경향을 보였다. 생장 반응에서는 최상위 성숙엽의 엽장, 엽폭 및 생체량은 900, 1500, 2100μmol CO2·mol-1 등 고농도 처리구에서 감소하였으나, 신엽 발달은 고농도 CO2 처리 하에서 촉진되었다. 이러한 결과들은 호접란 유묘의 높은 CO2 환경에 대한 적응이 CO2 흡수와 신엽 발달을 증진시킬 수 있다는 것을 보여준다. 그러나 900μmol CO2·mol-1 이상의 고농도에서는 잎의 생장과 생체량이 다소 줄어드는 경향이 있어 이에 대한 원인구명 등 추가적인 연구가 필요하다.