Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) has been known as greater duckweed or great duckmeat. It is native inhabited in Korea. It is considered as a rich source of primary metabolites including protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Thus, it is considered as an alternative food source for the future. In addition, it has a strong phytoremediation capacity to remove various environmental pollutants, especially inorganic elements and pesticides. With a variety of duckweed’s application, there is an urgent need to develop a cultivation method for a sustainable supply of S. polyrhiza. In this study, an indoor vertical farm has been introduced to optimize duckweed cultivation. Indoor cultivated S. polyrhiza showed about 2-fold higher fresh weight than outdoor cultivated duckweed. Contents of inorganic elements were also significantly reduced in indoor cultivated S. polyrhiza. Especially, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) were approximately 10-fold decreased in indoor cultivated duckweed. On the other hand, contents of proteins and fats were significantly increased in indoor cultivated S. polyrhiza, while carbohydrates were found more in outdoor cultivated S. polyrhiza. Increasing N content in a homemade nutrition solution also enhanced fresh and dried weights of S. polyrhiza by about 1.8-fold in comparison with other commercial nutrition solutions. Proliferation rate (%) was doubled every 24 hours in this indoor vertical farm, indicating the accomplishment of a sustainable supply for S. polyrhiza. Further studies need to be undertaken to cultivate other duckweeds such as Wolffia arrhiza and Lemna minor using the same indoor farming system.

This study investigated the morphological characteristics and regional variations of leaves, flowers, and seeds of Quercus myrsinifolia Blume to understand its ecological adaptation and the effects of environmental factors. Samples were collected from Jinju, Hapcheon, and Sancheong, and nine leaf traits, six flower traits, and five seed traits were analyzed. Significant regional variations were observed, with Hapcheon exhibiting the largest leaf and flower sizes, while Sancheong showed the largest and heaviest seeds. Jinju recorded the smallest values for most traits. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed distinct regional groupings, with Hapcheon displaying intermediate traits, Sancheong larger traits, and Jinju smaller traits. Correlation analysis identified strong positive relationships between leaf length and width, seed length and weight, and the number of staminate flowers and catkin width, highlighting key indicators for growth. Climate factors such as temperature and precipitation significantly influenced morphological traits, with higher temperatures negatively affecting leaf and seed sizes, while precipitation showed a weak positive correlation with seed weight. Among soil factors, pH and magnesium content were closely related to morphological traits. pH exhibited a negative correlation with leaf length and petiole length, while magnesium showed a positive correlation with seed weight and leaf width. These findings underscore the significant role of environmental factors in morphological variation and provide valuable insights for developing regionally adaptive breeding strategies. These findings provide foundational data for developing region-specific breeding strategies and cultivars for Q. myrsinifolia, contributing to ecological management and climate change adaptation strategies.

Seeds of some barberry species have embryo with physiological dormancy that requires a cold stratification for germination. Berberis amurensis Rupr. is a native species of Japan, Korea, the Russian far east, and parts of China. This specific plant is important for its edible fruits and rhizomes with high medicine value. This study aimed to determine the effect of stratification on germination and physiological change of B. amurensis. Seeds were placed on sterilized sand medium moistened with distilled water in 9 cm diameter petri dishes and stored at 4 and 25˚C for 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days. Each treatment had 40 seeds per replica, and three repetitions per treatment. Immediately after stratification, total phenolics contents (TPC) was analyzed and seeds incubated at 15/6˚C for 12 weeks. Warm stratification had a significant effect on seed forcing for germination than cold stratification treatment. At 25˚C for 60 days, stratified seed showed highest germination percentage (25.7±4.3%) and germination started in 14 days of the stored period. Whereas TPC was significantly decreased with increasing stored period. Contrastively, cold stratification had no effect on the germination ability. In the same way germination percentage of non-stratified seeds were also zero. The results confirmed that B. amurensis seeds were in a dormant state and warm stratification increased the germination ability by breaking of dormancy.

This review examines the microstructural and mechanical properties of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy produced by wrought processing and powder metallurgy (PM), specifically laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and hot isostatic pressing. Wrought methods, such as forging and rolling, create equiaxed alpha (α) and beta (β) grain structures with balanced properties, which are ideal for fatigue resistance. In contrast, PM methods, particularly LPBF, often yield a martensitic α′ structure with high microhardness, enabling complex geometries but requiring post-processing to improve its properties and reduce stress. The study evaluated the effects of processing parameters on grain size, phase distribution, and material characteristics, guiding the choice of fabrication techniques for optimizing Ti-6Al-4V performance in aerospace, biomedical, and automotive applications. The analysis emphasizes tailored processing to meet advanced engineering demands.

Hangovers, resulting from excessive alcohol intake, manifest hours after drinking, causing symptoms like thirst, headache, and fatigue. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), with acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen species contributing to toxic effects. Morning Care (MC) products were evaluated in male and female mice to assess their impact on alcohol metabolism and hangover alleviation. The study revealed that pre-administration of MC products led to a significant reduction in blood ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations postalcohol ingestion. This remarkable finding suggests a potential breakthrough in hangover relief. Enhanced ADH and ALDH activities were observed in blood and liver samples, indicating improved alcohol metabolism. Interestingly, gene expression levels of ADH and ALDH in the liver did not show significant differences, suggesting that MC products likely enhance enzyme activities through post-translational modifications rather than altering gene expression. These findings underscore the potential of MC products to mitigate hangover symptoms by enhancing alcohol metabolism.

We examine whether the radial acceleration relation (RAR) of dwarf galaxies can be explained by Verlinde’s emergent gravity. This is the extension of Yoon et al. (2023), which examine the RAR of typical spiral galaxies, to less massive systems. To do this, we compile the line-of-sight velocity dispersion profiles of 30 dwarf galaxies in the Local Group from the literature. We then calculate the expected gravitational acceleration from the stellar component in the framework of the emergent gravity, and compare it with that from observations. The calculated acceleration with the emergent gravity under the assumption of a quasi-de Sitter universe agrees with the observed one within the uncertainty. Our results suggest that the emergent gravity can explain the kinematics of galaxies without introducing dark matter, even for less massive galaxies where dark matter is expected to dominate. This sharply contrasts with MOND, where a new interpolating function has to be introduced for dwarf galaxies to explain their kinematics without dark matter.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have been reported to have better properties than conventional materials; however, they are more expensive due to the high cost of their main components. Therefore, research is needed to reduce manufacturing costs. In this study, CoCrFeMnNi HEAs were prepared using metal injection molding (MIM), which is a powder metallurgy process that involves less material waste than machining process. Although the MIM-processed samples were in the face-centered cubic (FCC) phase, porosity remained after sintering at 1200°C, 1250°C, and 1275°C. In this study, the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process, which considers both temperature (1150°C) and pressure (150 MPa), was adopted to improve the quality of the MIM samples. Although the hardness of the HIP-treated samples decreased slightly and the Mn composition was significantly reduced, the process effectively eliminated many pores that remained after the 1275°C MIM process. The HIP process can improve the quality of the alloy.

Helicobacter pylori are known as a causative agent of gastritis, gastric duodenum and peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer, and multiple drug use is associated with various side effects in patients. The discovery of antibacterial substances against H. pylori from Korean resource plants is an important substitute for antibiotics. 52 species of Korean resource plants were collected and extracted with 50% ethanol, and antibacterial activity against H. pylori was measured using the disk diffusion method. The toxicity of plant extracts to human gastric adenocarcinoma(AGS) cells was measured by MTT assay, and the level of IL-8 secreted when gastric epithelial cells were inoculated with H. pylori was measured. As a result of measuring the antibacterial activity of H. pylori, antibacterial activity was confirmed in 38 plant extracts. The plant species with the strongest antibacterial activity were Chrysanthemum indicum, Rheum rhabarbarum, Patrinia scabiosaefolia and Petasites japonicus. C. indicum was not cytotoxic to H. pyroli-infected AGS cells and showed anti-inflammatory effects. This study's results can be used to develop healthy, functional foods and medical materials.