We established pretreatment method of solidified cement ion-exchange resin samples generated before 2003 in nuclear power plants for measurement of non-volatile radionuclide activity. A microwave digestion system (MDS) with mixed acid (HCl-HNO3-HF-H2O2) was used to dissolve cement and to desorb non-volatile elements such as Ce, Co, Cs, Fe, Nb, Ni, Re, Sr and U from mixed ion-exchange resin. The content of Ce, Co, Fe, Nb, Ni, Re, Sr, U and Cs after pretreatment of cement plus mixed ion-exchange resin was measured by ICP-AES and ICP-MS, respectively. As iron and strontium are also present in cement, their content after dissolving a certain amount of cement was measured by ICP-AES. All elements except Nb were quantitatively recovered. Especially since the Nb recovery was low at 72.0±2.5%, the MDS following addition of the mixed acid to the resin was operated once more for desorbing Nb from it. Finally the recovery of Nb was over 95%. This sample pretreatment method will be applied to solidified cement ion-exchange resin samples generated in nuclear power plants for assessment of radionuclide inventory.

This study evaluates the gastroprotective effect of cabbage extract with sulforaphane content of 5.19 mg/L and Smethylmethionine content of 469.28 μg/L. In vitro, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated group had an increased NO activity compared to the normal group, and the concentration of NO was reduced when the cabbage extract was treated in the dose manner. The level of IL-6 induced by LPS was dose-dependently reduced when the extract was treated. The cabbage extract concentration was orally administered in rats at 5.75 mg/kg, 11.5 mg/kg, and 23 mg/ kg, and the inhibitory effect on gastric damage by HCl-ethanol was observed. Histological analysis exhibited mucosal erosion in the gastritis model compared to the normal group, while the ameliorating effect of the generated erosion was observed in the cabbage-treated group. The histamine concentration was significantly increased in the gastritis-induced animal model, and the histamine concentration was decreased in the 23 mg/L-treated group of cabbage extract. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that cabbage extract not only down-regulates cytokines in vitro, but is also directly involved in histamine secretion in an animal model of gastritis; therefore, cabbage extract can help inhibit gastrointestinal disorders by improving the protective barrier.

Enhancing yield has been a major challenge of agriculture. In rice, tiller number is one of the important biomass and yield components. A maize mutant grassy tillers1 (gt1) increases lateral branches in maize. The GT1 gene encodes a class I homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) protein. In maize, the gt1 expression is induced by shading and is dependent on the activity of teosinte branched1 (tb1), a major domestication locus controlling tillering and lateral branching. To estimate the biological role and agricultural utility of gt1 in rice, rice homologue (OsGT1) has been isolated and its overexpressors and RNAi lines were generated. Field data showed that OsGT1 overexpressors reduced tillers and panicles while RNAi lines increased them, compared to wild type. Shade signal is an important factor in determining lateral branching. To understand the relationship between OsGT1 and shade avoidance, plants have been grown under 50% shading in the field. Also, double genetic combinations with phytochrome mutants (phyA, B, and C) are being examining for tillering phenotype. These ongoing researches will provide insights in determining the action of OsGT1 on branching and shade avoidance in rice.

A new rose variety, ‘Venus Berry’ was selected from the progenies of a cross between ‘Boy Friend’ and ‘GSR10315’ by rose breeding team of the Gyeonggi-Do Agricultural Research and Extension Services(GARES) in 2011. ‘Venus Berry’ was crossed in 2007 and seedlings were produced. After the test of specific characters from 2008 to 2011, it was finally selected and named. ‘Venus Berry’ was developed because of distinctive characters such as growth uniformity and high yielding potential. The petal of flower is so thick and has no scratch. A standard type with large sized flower, it has light pink(Red Purple Group 69C) color flower. ‘Venus Berry’ takes 45 days from pruning to blooming and cut flower productivity was 194.1 stems/m2 in a year. The length of cut flower was long with 65.5 cm. It has 10.2 cm in flower diameter and 43.6 in petal numbers per flower. Vase life of the this cultivar could be as long as 12 days.

A new rose variety, ‘Love Letter’ was selected from the progenies of a cross between ‘Red Giant’ and ‘Ensemble’ by rose breeding team of the Gyeonggi-Do Agricultural Research and Extension Services(GARES) in 2011. ‘Love Letter’ was crossed in 2007 and seedlings were produced. After the test of specific characters from 2008 to 2011, it was finally selected and named. ‘Love Letter’ was developed because of distinctive characters such as growth uniformity and high yielding potential. A standard type with large sized flower, It has red(Red Group 46A) color flower. ‘Love Letter’ takes 43 days from pruning to blooming and cut flower productivity was 152 stems/m2 in a year. The stems of cut flower have no thorn and the length was long with 70.5 cm. It has 9.3 cm in flower diameter and 32.4 in petal numbers per flower. Vase life of the this cultivar could be as long as 12 days.

In order to determine the optimum harvest time for the seed production of inbreds and hybrids in silage corn, the ears of sib-pollinated 'KS5', 'KS7rhm', and 'Ga209' and cross-pollinated 'KS5' ~times 'KS6' (Suwon19), 'KS7 rhm' ~times 'KSl17' (Suwonok), and 'Ga209' ~times 'DB544'(Kwanganok) were harvested at the one-week intervals from 4 to 10 weeks after silking. The optimum harvest time for the seed production for 'KS5', 'KS5' ~times 'KS6', 'KS7 rhm', and 'KS7rhm' ~times 'KS117' was 7 weeks after silking considering both emergence rate and plumule growth in cold test. Although earlier harvested seeds showed similar germination rate as the seeds harvested at the optimum time at 25~circC , their emergence rate were lower in cold test. Seed weight and α -amylase activity of earlier harvested seeds were lower compared to those of seeds harvested at the optimum time, while leakage of total sugars and electrolytes were higher. However, the later harvested seeds showed lower germination rates at 25~circC and emergence rates in cold test probably due to the lower α -amylase activity although they showed increased seed weight and reduced leakage of total sugars and electrolytes. In contrast, the emergence rate of 'Ga209' and 'Ga209' ~times 'DB544' in cold test increased up to 10 weeks after silking probably due to the increased seed weight and α -amylase activity and reduced sugar and electrolyte leakages during the germination. The cross-pollinated F1 hybrid seeds showed higher germination and emergence rates at 25~circC and in cold test, and higher plumule growth and α -amylase activity compared to those of sib-pollinated inbreds.