Cordyceps militaris is widely used in China, Korea, and other Asian countries as both a traditional medicinal ingredient and an edible fungus. This study aimed to optimize the growth conditions and fruiting body production of C. militaris by investigating various culture media and physical parameters such as pH, aeration, illumination, temperature, spawn materials, and oat–sawdust-based substrate formulations. After a 7-day incubation period, oats with a pH of 6.0, under sealed and illuminated conditions at 32°C, demonstrated the most effective mycelial growth. Substrates consisting of 70% oat and 30% sawdust had the shortest incubation time of 30.5 days for fruiting body formation. The basidiospores showed a typical germination pattern where the sporidium produced a single germ tube that elongated, and branched to form monokaryotic primary mycelia. In conclusion, using oats as a substrate in the cultivation of C. militaris could reduce production costs and help protect the environment.

We studied the effects of initial pH, different nitrogen sources, and cultivation methods (shake flask and static culture) on biomass production, exopolysaccharides (EPS), and adenosine by Paecilomyces tenuipes. Relatively low pH levels were optimal for mycelial growth and EPS production. Yeast extract was the most effective organic nitrogen source for EPS production, whereas soybean extract was the best for adenosine production. A high C/N ratio was beneficial for adenosine production; however, excessively high C/N ratios reduced adenosine production. Static fermentation significantly increased adenosine production. A Box-Behnken design was used to optimize adenosine production; the optimal conditions for adenosine production by P. tenuipes were pH 7.0, soybean concentration of 3%, and a static culture period of 20 days, with the maximum adenosine production of 141.10 mg/L (predicted value: 128.05 mg/L).

Ethanol production from various agricultural and forest residues has been widely researched, but there is limited information available on the use of mixed hardwood for ethanol production. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of time on the steam explosion pretreatment of waste wood (mixed hardwood) and to determine the convenience of a delignification step with respect to the susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose residue and the recoveries of both cellulose and hemicellulosic sugars. Delignification did enhance enzymatic hydrolysis yields of steam exploded waste wood. For steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, the recovery yield of hemicellulosic-derived sugars decreased. The effective hemicellulose solubilization does not always result in high recoveries of hemicellulose-derived sugars in the liquid fractions due to sugar degradation. In the steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, where hemicellulose solubilization exceeded 95%, but sugar recoveries in the liquid fraction remained below 30%. Cellulose to glucose yield losses were less significant than hemicellulosic-sugar losses, with a maximum loss of 24% at 5 min. Up to 80% of the lignin in the original wood was solubilized, leaving a cellulose-rich residue that led to a concentrated cellulose to glucose yield solution (about 50 g/L after 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis in the best case). The maximum overall process yield, taking into account both sugars present in the liquid from steam explosion pretreatment and cellulose to glucose yield from the steam exploded, delignified and hydrolyzed solid was obtained at the lowest steam explosion pretreatment time assayed.

The objective of this study was to determine the ultrasonication-assisted extraction conditions that maximize the DPPH radical scavenging activity of extracts obtained from the stems of Lespedeza bicolor Turcz through the application of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Before delving into the analysis of extraction conditions using the RSM model, we conducted efficiency validation of ultrasonication-assisted extraction and executed single-factor experiments for ethanol concentration, extraction time, and extraction temperature. The data obtained from these single-factor experiments were employed to construct the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). In these results, in the single-factor experiments, it was evident that the parameters for ethanol concentration, extraction time, and extraction temperature exhibited quadratic trends. The single-factor experiments allowed us to discern the trends for each parameter leading to the maximum antioxidant capacity, and this data was subsequently applied to the BBD. Following the completion of initial experiments, a Response Surface Methodology (RSM) model was constructed based on Box-Behnken Design (BBD). According to the predictive model developed in this study, it was anticipated that performing ultrasonic-assisted extraction for 85.0412 minutes at an ethanol concentration of 32.573% and an extraction temperature of 51.5608°C will result in a DPPH radical scavenging activity of 79.7146%. The predictive results were statistically verified through a comparative analysis with actual measurements and ANOVA analysis, confirming the statistical significance of the model. The finding of this study underscore the significance of optimizing extraction conditions in the precise quantification of the antioxidant potential for economic advantages in both experimental and industrial contexts.

Haemaphysalis longicornis는 사람과 동물에게 여러 심각한 병원체를 전달하는 주요 매개체로, 한반도에 널리 분포하고 있다. H. longicornis는 Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., Francisella spp., Coxiella spp., 그리고 중증열성혈소판 감소증후군 바이러스 (SFTS virus) 등을 매개하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 국내에 서식하는 H. longicornis의 미생물 군집과 관련된 연구는 많이 진행되지 않은 것으로 확인되었다. 이 연구는 한반도 내 다양한 지역에서 채집된 H. longicornis의 미생물군집 다양성을 지역별, 성장 단계 및 성별에 따라 분석하였다. 2019년 6월부터 7월까지 질병관리청 권역별기후변화매개체감시거점센터 16개 지역에서 채집한 H. longicornis의 16S rRNA 유전자 V3-V4 영역을 PCR로 증폭 후 Illumina MiSeq 플랫폼으로 시퀀싱하였다. Qiime2를 활용한 미생물 다양성 분석을 통해 총 46개의 샘플에서 1,754,418개의 non-chimeric reads를 얻었으며, 평균 126개 의 operating taxonmic unit (OTU) 을 식별하여 총 1,398개의 OTU를 확인하였다. 대부분의 지역에서 Coxiella spp.가 우점종으로 나타났으며, 특히 Coxiella endosymbiont는 가장 높은 우점도를 보이며, Coxiella burnetii와 계통 발생 학적으로 유사한 것으로 확인되었다. 이 연구를 통해 분석된 결과는 각 지역의 H. longicornis 미생물군집 데이터 베이스 구축에 활용되었으며, 이를 통해 지역별 미생물군집의 특이성을 식별할 수 있게 하였다. 이는 한반도의 H. longicornis에 의한 질병 전파 연구와 이를 통한 공중보건 개선에 기여할 것으로 기대된다.

Paecilomyces tenuipes (P. tenuipes) is a fungus cultivated artificially by South Korean researchers, utilizing rice bran as its substrate. The increased demand for this fungus has not been met with successful cultivation methods for fruiting body production in natural environments. Therefore, we tested the effect on the growth of P. tenuipes using a Solid media based on pests. In this results, the Solid media based on M.alternatus was effective in increasing the growth of P. tenuipes and the content of cordycepin. Moreover, we confirmed the conditions for manufacturing a Solid media based on M.alternatus for P. tenuipes growth. We suggested that the growth-promoting compounds offers valuable insights for optimizing fungal cultivation conditions, thereby enhancing productivity and contributing to a broader understanding of fungal physiology in varying nutritional environments.

Plants synthesize antioxidant compounds as a defense mechanism against reactive oxygen species. Recently, plant-derived antioxidant compounds have attracted attention due to the increasing consumer awareness in the heath industry. However, traditional methods for measuring the antioxidant activity of these compounds are time-consuming and costly. Therefore, our study constructed a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model that can predict antioxidant activity using graph convolutional networks (GCN) from plant structural data. The accuracy (Acc) of the model reached 0.6 and the loss reached 0.03. Although with lower accuracy than previously reported QSAR models, our model showed the possibility of predicting DPPH antioxidant activity in a wide range of plant compounds (phenolics, polyphenols, vitamins, etc.) based on their graph structure.

Fulvic acid, a humic substance with unique properties, has sparked interest due to its potential applications in the treatment of allergic diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and as a microplastic adsorbent. However, conventional extraction methods produce insufficient quantities for commercial use, which has prompted research to enhance fulvic acid production. In this study, we investigated the impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation on the yield and spectral characteristics of fulvic acid extracted from white peat. Fulvic acid was extracted from both S. cerevisiae-treated and untreated white peats using acid precipitation. The yield of fulvic acid from the S. cerevisiae treated group reached its highest at 3.5 % after 72 hr of fermentation, which was significantly higher than the untreated group (1.1 %). Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed similarities in functional groups and characteristic absorption bands between the treated and untreated fulvic acid samples. These findings suggest that S. cerevisiae fermentation can increase the yield of fulvic acid extracted from white peat, providing a promising approach for enhancing the commercial viability of fulvic acid production.

스리랑카는 채소의 주년 생산에 적합한 기후를 갖고 있는 열대국가이다. 열대, 아열대 채소의 재배면적은 전체 농지(105,062 ha)의 약 3%이다. 지난 50년 동안 스리랑카에서 채소 육종에 관한 체계적인 연구가 이루어졌고 채소 부문은 지속적으로 증가하였다. 하지만 채소 육종, 재배 및 가공과 관련된 기술이 선진국에 비해 많이 뒤떨어져 있는 형편이다. 전통 육종법을 통해 개발된 다양한 농업적 형질을 가진 품종이 현재까지 스리랑카의 채소 생산에 이용되고 있지만 생명공학적 방법을 접목한 채소 품종 육종법의 중요성이 점차로 부각되고 있다. 본 논문은 스리랑카에서 중요한 채소 작물인 토마토, 고추류, 콩류, 가지 및 여주의 육종과 품종 현황을 소개하고 향후 스리랑카 육종 전망에 대해 논의하였다.

The efficacy of the natural amendments in improving physical condition as well as waterretention characteristics of the growing media in pot culture was studied on seven different mixratio of growing media applied to soil. Growing media was prepared from peat, perlite, pruningwaste, pulp(3:1:3:3(w/w/w/w)). Growth substrates were prepared by mixing growing media at therates of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 100% with soil at 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%,50% and 0%, respectively. The bulk density tended to decreased with increasing growing mediaproportions. The particle density was lowest(0.6 g/cm3) in sole growing media treatment and theporosity of all the soil mixed growing media(63.2~83.3%) was significantly higher than that ofthe soil as sole medium(60.7%). The water content was lowest in sole soil treatment(5.1%) andgrowing media as sole medium(57.8%) was the closely ideal range for pot culture(>60%). Although substrates were varying water to the atmosphere at similar rates which retained waterfor longer, growing media as sole still remain constant on high water content. It was confirmedthat strongly correlated between bulk density and water retentivity(correlation-0.85).

This experiment was designed to assess the physical and chemical properties of growing media substituted with a range of increasing concentrations of pretreated wood and to relate these properties to plant growth responses. For preparing the growing media, each material was combined with rural soil, peat, perlite and pretreated wood. Physicochemical properties studied were similar to ideal substrate ranges for plant growth on growing media, including pretreated wood. Physical properties were also well maintained over time. In comparison to plants growing in 100% rural soil, tall fescue(Festuca arundinacea) in the prepared growing media achieved better growth, especially when using the 50% rural soil + 50% PPW(peat + perlite + pretreated wood, 3:1:6(w/w/w)) and 30% rural soil + 70% PPW (peat + perlite + pretreated wood, 3:1:6(w/w/w)), and showed improved germination percentage. We confirmed the potential use of growing media, including pretreated wood. Furthermore, our results show a correlation among the physicochemical properties of tall fescue(Festuca arundinacea); physical properties were significantly influenced by germination and aerial parts. The root length of physicochemical properties was correlated with bulk density and organic compound (p<0.01).

An experiment was conducted to study the potential of thermal treated oak sawdust(steaming and steam explosion) as horticultural medium component in plug seedlings production of Chinese cabbage(Brassica campestris L.). This study involves the chemical, physical characterization and growth test of thermal treated oak sawdust(steaming and steam explosion) in order to evaluate their use as components of horticultural media. A commercial peat moss and oak sawdust were used as control. The total carbohydrate, C/N ratio, pH, phenolic compound, total porosity and water holding capacity were 45.1g/100g dry wt, 425.1, 4.4, 141.8mg/g wt, 82.5%, 47.1% in oak sawdust and 39.2g/100g dry wt, 300.3, 4.7, 131.7mg/g wt, 84.9% and 49.2% in steamed oak sawdust and 30.3g/100g dry wt, 247.8, 5.7, 40.8mg/g wt, 92.3% and 51.7% in steam exploded oak sawdust, respectively. The mixtures of the horticultural media were prepared using different substrate as peat moss, oak sawdust, steamed oak sawdust, steam exploded oak sawdust and perlite to grow Chinese cabbage in a greenhouse. The seed germination, stem height and leaf area were 68%, 2.2cm, 1.1cm2 in OSP(containing 90% oak sawdust and 10% perlite) and 69%, 2.5cm, 1.5cm2 in SMP(containing 90% steamed oak sawdust and 10% perlite) and 87%, 3.0cm, 2.2cm2 in SEP(containing 90% steam exploded oak sawdust and 10% perlite), respectively. The leaf area SEP(containing 90% steam exploded oak sawdust and 10% perlite) was higher than that of PP(containing 90% peat moss and 10% perlite). This research indicates that steam exploded oak sawdust may be utilized as a suitable replacement for peat moss in horticultural media component for Chinese cabbage.

Flexible transparent conducting films (TCFs) were fabricated by dip-coating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. The amount of coated SWCNTs was controlled simply by dipping number. Because the performance of SWCNT-based TCFs is influenced by both electrical conductance and optical transmittance, we evaluated the film performance by introducing a film property factor using both the number of interconnected SWCNT bundles at intersection points, and the coverage of SWCNTs on the PET substrate, in field emission scanning electron microscopic images. The microscopic film property factor was in an excellent agreement with the macroscopic one determined from electrical conductance and optical transmittance measurements, especially for a small number of dippings. Therefore, the most crucial factor governing the performance of the SWCNT-based TCFs is a SWCNT-network structure with a large number of intersection points for a minimum amount of deposited SWCNTs.

This study aims to examine the effects of taping of the ankle joint on the static and dynamic balance and gait ability of stroke patients. Twenty-six stroke patients receiving physical therapy at a hospital located in Gyeonggi-do were divided equally into a group that had taping in physical therapy and an ordinary physical therapy group. They exercised for 30 minutes each, 3 times per week for 8 weeks from June to August 2011. Romberg’s eye open and eye closed tests, limits of stability(LOS), forward and back test, timed up and go test(TUG) and 10-meter gait velocity test were performed to evaluate static balance, dynamic balance, and gait ability, respectively, prior to and 8 weeks after the intervention. Differences within each group in relation to the lapse of time were compared by a paired t-test. Differences between the two groups were compared by an independent t-test. Regarding comparison of differences within each group, all tests resulted in significant changes in both groups after the intervention (p<.05). Comparison of differences between the two groups showed that taping in the physical therapy group had significantly better test results than the ordinary physical therapy group in all measured items(p<.05). The after effects of ankle taping on stroke patients are more efficient and effective than ordinary physical therapy alone in improving balance and gait ability.

A 10-year-old intact female Cocker Spaniel weighing 15.3 kg presented with dysbasia. The dog had hyperglycemia and glucosuria at presentation. Neurological examination and magnetic resonance imaging on the following day indicated the onset of cervical disk disease. Four days later, the patient returned due to sudden vomiting and anorexia with severe dehydration. Abnormal laboratory findings included severe hyperglycemia with ketonuria. Plasma progesterone concentration was very high at presentation. She was hospitalized for critical care, and insulin administration with fluid therapy was initiated. Mean blood glucose concentration showed a gradual decline, and hyperglycemia with glucosuria disappeared four days after initiation of insulin therapy. This case demonstrated that high plasma progesterone concentration during diestrus can contribute to development of diabetes mellitus in intact female dogs.

The Trichoderma disease, commonly referred to as green mold, has been previously considered as a problem in mushroom production, because it typically occurred in association with low-quality compost or poor hygiene. We studied growth of Trichoderma spp. (Trichoderma aggressivum, Trichoderma atroviride, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma viride) is under the control of environment factors ; 15℃ - 35 ℃ of incubation temperature, pH 3 - pH 11 of medium and 55% - 75% moisture content of rice straw medium. At the temperature of incubation, Trichoderma spp. had the highest growth rate at 25 ℃ and had no growth at 35 ℃. At the pH of medium, Trichoderma spp. had the highest growth rate at pH 5 and had the lowest growth rate at pH 11. In the Moisture content of rice straw medium, Trichoderma spp. had the highest growth at 75% moisture content and had the lowest growth rate at 55% moisture content.