Pelle, a serine/threonine kinase, is an intracellular component of the Toll pathway and is involved in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) production due to pathogenic infection. It is known that the Pelle phosphorylates Cactus and activates the NF-κB signaling pathway in Drosophila, but it is not studied in Tenebrio molitor. In this study we investigated the tissue-specific expression patterns of the Pelle following pathogenic infection at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours. Additionally, larval mortality and AMP expression against microbial injection were investigated in dsPelle-treated T. molitor larvae. Our results may help to understand the antimicrobial function of TmPelle.

본 연구는 우수한 꿀벌 신품종 육성을 위해 국립농업과학원에서 육성된 재래꿀벌 RX계통을 분양받아 ’23~’24 년까지 부안군 변산면에 위치한 전북농업기술원 잠사곤충시험장 양봉사에서 꿀벌세력, 수밀력, 질병저항성, 온순성, 질병발생, 월동능력을 한라벌 품종과 비교하여 조사하였다. 8~11월 RX계통의 꿀벌세력 감소는 3.9%로 한라벌 39.8% 대비 상대적으로 낮았고, 수밀력, 청소능력, 온순성은 유의적 차이가 없었다. 낭충봉아부패병 등 질병은 전북동물위생시험소에서 병성검정한 결과, 두 시험군 모두 항원이 검출되었으나 임상증상은 없었다. 그리고 월동 중 한라벌 품종은 폐사한 반면, RX계통은 모든 시험군이 월동에 성공하였고, 또한 월동전·후 먹이감 소량이 적어 월동능력이 우수한 것으로 판단하였다. 본 연구는 국립농업과학원 공동연구사업(PJ01504205)의 지원을 받아 수행하였다.

In this study, we examined the antagonistic effects of sprout-borne lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. This antagonism is promoted as a means of controlling contamination during sprout production and provides additional LAB for consumers. We isolated a total of 24 LAB isolates in nine species and five genera from seven popular vegetable sprouts: alfalfa (Medicago sativa), clover (Trifolium pratense), broccoli (Brassica oleracea ssp. italica), vitamin (B. rapa ssp. narinosa), red radish (Raphanus sativus), red kohlrabi (B. oleracea var. gongylodes), and Kimchi cabbage (B. campestris var. pekinensis). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, the LAB species were identified as Enterococcus casseliflavus, E. faecium, E. gallinarum, E. mundtii, Lactococcus taiwanensis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria, and W. confusa. A total of 16 LAB isolates in seven species including E. faecium, E. gallinarum, E. mundtii, L. taiwanensis, L. mesenteroides, P. pentosaceus, and W. cibaria showed antagonistic activity toward S. enterica. The growth inhibition of sprout LAB on S. enterica was confirmed by co-culture. Unexpectedly, sprout LAB failed to suppress the growth of S. enterica in alfalfa sprouts, whereas all LAB strains stimulate S. enterica growth even if it is not significant in some strains. The findings of this study indicate that S. enterica-antagonistic LAB are detrimental to food hygiene and will contribute to further LAB research and improved vegetable sprout production.

This study investigated unrecorded freshwater bacterial species in Korea. Water and sediment samples were collected from the Nakdong River basin from 2020-2022. Bacterial isolates obtained through the conventional culture method with commercial media were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify unrecorded bacterial species. Results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the bacterial isolates revealed that a total of 44 bacterial isolates shared 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of more than 98.65%, with validly published bacterial species not reported in Korea yet. These isolates were phylogenetically assigned to 4 phyla, 7 classes, 21 orders, 33 families, and 42 genera. A total of 2, 6, 12, and 24 species belonged to phyla Bacillota, Bacteroidota, Actinomycetota, and Pseudomonadota, respectively. Here, we provide details of these 44 unrecorded bacterial species, including Gram staining, colony and cellular morphologies, biochemical properties, and phylogenetic position.

The organic complexing agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and isosaccharinic acid (ISA) can enhance the radionuclides’ solubility and have the potential to induce the acceleration of radionuclides’ mobility to a far-field from the radioactive waste repository. Hence, it is essential to evaluate the effect of organic complexing agents on radionuclide solubility through experimental analysis under similar conditions to those at the radioactive waste disposal site. In this study, five radionuclides (cesium, cobalt, strontium, iodine, and uranium) and three organic complexing agents (EDTA, NTA, and ISA) were selected as model substances. To simulate environmental conditions, the groundwater was collected near the repository and applied for solubility experiments. The solubility experiments were carried out under various ranges of pHs (7, 9, 11, and 13), temperatures (10°C, 20°C, and 40°C), and concentrations of organic complexing agents (0, 10-5, 10-4, 10-3, and 10-2 M). Experimental results showed that the presence of organic complexing agents significantly increased the solubility of the radionuclides. Cobalt and strontium had high solubility enhancement factors, even at low concentrations of organic complexing agents. We also developed a support vector machine (SVM) model using some of the experimental data and validated it using the rest of the solubility data. The root mean square error (RMSE) in the training and validation sets was 0.012 and 0.016, respectively. The SVM model allowed us to estimate the solubility value under untested conditions (e.g., pH 12, temperature 30°C, ISA 5×10-4 M). Therefore, our experimental solubility data and the SVM model can be used to predict radionuclide solubility and solubility enhancement by organic complexing agents under various conditions.

Pseudo-pheochromocytoma is defined as an adrenal tumor that has the typical characteristics of pheochromocytoma likely hypertension but is histopathologically diagnosed to other types of adrenal tumors. 11-year-old, castrated male Maltese presented for a left adrenal mass with hypertension. According to clinical signs and radiological features, a temporary diagnosis was made of pheochromocytoma. The adrenalectomy was performed and the histopathological examination of the resected adrenal gland was diagnosed as cortical adenocarcinoma. This report describes the case of pseudo-pheochromocytoma in a dog and implies the salience that even if pheochromocytoma is diagnosed based on all test results, pseudo-pheochromocytoma should not be excluded.

Cellulose-based wastes can be degraded into short-chain organic acids at the cementitious radioactive waste repository. Isosaccharinic acid (ISA), one of the main degradation products, can form the chelate complex with metals and radionuclides, and these complexes have a potential that can accelerate to move the radionuclides to far-field from the repository. This study characterized the amount of generated ISA from typical cellulosic materials in the repository. Two different degradation experiments were conducted under alkaline conditions (saturated with Ca(OH)2 at pH 12.4): i) cellulosic material mixture under an opened condition (partially aerobic), and ii) cellulosic material under an anaerobic condition in a nitrogen-purged glove box. In the first case, three different types of cellulosic materials–paper, cotton, and wood– were mixed at the same ratio, and the experiments were carried out at three different temperatures (20°C, 40°C, and 60°C). It revealed that both the cellulose degradation rate and generated ISA concentration were high at high reaction temperatures, and various soluble degradation products such as formic acid and lactic acid were generated. The cellulose degradation in this work seems to still stay at a peeling-off process. In the second study, each type of cellulosic material was applied in its own batch experiments, and the amount of generated ISA was in the order of paper > wood > cotton. The above two experiments are supposed to be a long-term study until the generated ISA reaches an equilibrium state.

본 연구에서는 액체감쇠역전회복(FLAIR) 시퀀스를 대체하였던 방법 중에 비교적 간단하면서 높은 재현성을 나타내었던 고신호 강도제거 원리를 MAGiC에 적용하여 MAGiC-FLAIR와 기존의 고속스핀에코-FLAIR 영상과 비교하여 고신호 강 도제거영상의 유용성과 임상적으로 유의미한 기준을 제시하고자 하였다. 연구방법은 MAGiC 적용 후 MAGiC-FLAIR와 MAGiC-고신호 강도제거 영상을 재구성하여, 기존의 고속스핀에코-FLAIR 영상과 각각 정성적, 정량적 평가를 비교하였 다. 정성평가결과 MAGiC-고신호 강도제거는 MAGiC-FLAIR 보다는 월등히 우수하며, 고속스핀에코-FLAIR와 유사한 결과를 보였고, 정량평가결과 MAGiC-고신호강도제거는 MAGiC-FLAIR보다 백질과 회백질 대조도는 더 우수할 뿐만 아 니라, 뇌척수액의 신호 억제도 우수한 결과를 나타냈다. Synthetic 영상을 통하여 획득한 다양한 대조도 영상 중 FLAIR의 부정확도를 고신호 강도제거기법을 적용한다면 진단적 가치를 개선하여 제공할 수 있을 것이다.

Humulus japonicus (HJ) is a widely used herbal medicine for pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension, leprosy, and venomous wounds in Asia, particularly in China. Although HJ has certain physiological activities, such as longitudinal bone growth, antioxidation and alleviation of rheumatism, its anticancer activities, other than in colorectal and ovarian cancer, are yet to be studied. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity and mechanism of methanol extracts of HJ (MeHJ) against human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. MeHJ suppressed FaDu cell viability without affecting normal cells (L929), which was demonstrated using the MTT and Live & Dead assays. Furthermore, MeHJ effectively inhibited colony formation of FaDu cells, even at non-cytotoxic concentrations, and significantly induced apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-9, -3, -7, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and through the downregulation of BCL-2 and upregulation of BAX in FaDu cells, as determined by DAPI staining, flow cytometry, and western blot analyses. Collectively, these findings suggest that the inhibitory effects of MeHJ on the growth and colony formation of oral cancer cells may be mediated by caspase- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, MeHJ has the potential to be used as a natural chemotherapeutic drug against human oral cancer.

A 13-year-old mixed dog was referred to the animal medical center, Gyeongsang National University. Lung masses were diagnosed at the left cranial and caudal lobes through diagnostic imaging, and consequently, left pneumonectomy was performed using a self-cutting linear endoscopic stapler. The pulmonary arteries, veins, and bronchus of each lung lobe were sealed and resected at once, and any air leakage or bleeding was not observed after the surgery. Compared to the conventional ligation method, the self-cutting linear endoscopic stapler has the advantage of significantly reducing the operation time and enabling simple and reliable sealing.

Nypa fruticans Wurmb (NFW) contains a large amount of phenolic acid and flavonoids, and is popular as a superfood in Myanmar. NFW has various biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties; however, the anti-cancer effect of NFW have not been reported. In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity of water extracts of NFW (WeNFW) and the underlying mechanism in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. The WeNFW inhibited FaDu cell growth in a dose-dependent manner without affecting normal cells (L929), as determined by an MTT assay and Live and Dead assay. In addition, the concentrations of WeNFW without cytotoxicity (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/mL) inhibited wound healing and colony formation. Furthermore, WeNFW significantly induced apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-3 and -9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in FaDu cells, as determined by DAPI staining, FACS analysis, and western blot analysis. Taken together, these results suggest that WeNFW exhibits potent anti-cancer effects by suppressing the growth of oral cancer cells, wound healing and colony formation activity. Via mitrochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, WeNFW can provide a natural chemotherapeutic drug for oral cancer in humans.