Maca has been reported to alleviate male menopause symptoms in humans and experimental animals; however, its mechanism of action in improving male menopause has not been clearly identified. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action of gelatinized maca in improving male menopause by analyzing serum testosterone, testicular androgen receptor (AR) expression, and testicular oxidation-antioxidation balance. Gelatinized maca was administered orally to aged male C57BL/6 mice at three doses (500, 1,000, and 1,500 mg/kg/day) for 28 consecutive days. Serum biochemical analysis showed an increase in serum hydroxysteroid 17-beta-dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17β13) concentration at 1,500 mg/kg/day and a decrease in serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentration at ≥ 1,000 mg/kg/day. Gelatinized maca administration also resulted in the increased expression levels of testicular AR and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding protein (CREB) at 1,500 mg/kg/day. Oxidative stress analysis showed an increase in testicular superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase activities and a decrease in testicular malondialdehyde at 1,500 mg/kg/day. In conclusion, gelatinized maca administration to aged male mice increased HSD17β13, AR and CREB expression, and antioxidant capacity and decreased serum SHBG. The results of the present study suggest that gelatinized maca may be a useful substance that can help alleviate male menopause symptoms.

식물에 전기장을 처리하면 식물의 생장속도가 빨라지거나 영양학적으로 긍정적인 변화가 생긴다고 알려져 있다. 최근 음이온 처리 시 식물에 전기장을 처리한 것과 유사한 효과가 나타난다고 보고되었고 본 연구에서는 이러한 음이온을 온실해충인 점박이응애와 목화진딧물에 처리하여 방제효과 여부를 확인하였다. 그 결과 음이 온 처리 시 점박이응애와 목화진딧물에서 살충효과와 기피효과가 나타났다. 또한, 점박이응애 알에서도 음이온 처리가 부화율에 영향을 주는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 시험 결과를 바탕으로 온실에서 밀도실험 결과, 700,000 ion/cm3 농도에서 무처리구에 비해 밀도가 감소함을 확인할 수 있었다. 따라서, 본 연구는 음이온 처리 시, 부가적인 효과로 온실해충(점박이응애, 목화진딧물)에 대해 친환경적 방제 가능성을 보여준다.

Honey bees are crucial pollinators for agricultural and natural ecosystems, but are experiencing heavy mortality in Korea due to a complex suite of factors. Extreme winter losses of honey bee colonies are a major threat to beekeeping but the combinations of factors underlying colony loss remain debatable. Finding solutions involves knowing the factors associated with high loss rates. To investigate whether loss rates are related to Varroa control and climate condition, we surveyed beekeepers in korea after wintering (2021–2022 to 2022–2023). The results show an average colony loss rate of 46%(2022) and 17%(2023), but over 40% colony loss before wintering at 2022. Beekeepers attempt to manage their honey bee colonies in ways that optimize colony health. Disentangling the impact of management from other variables affecting colony health is complicated by the diversity of practices used and difficulties handling typically complex and incomplete observational datasets. We propose a method to 1) Varroa mite population Control by several methods , and 2) Many nursing bee put in hive before wintering.

Recent consumer behavior research indicates many consumers overgeneralize the relationship between food energy (i.e., calories) and bodily energy (i.e., physical and cognitive performance). We extend this idea to sport consumers, conducting two experiments among sport fans that demonstrate the imperative role of framing. Our data indicate that rivalry games and vicarious losing both increase fans’ desire to consume high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods (that is, “unhealthy” food) when food is framed as a source of fuel. This effect derives from the overgeneralized belief that the function of food is to provide energy for the body. Conversely, vicarious winning instead results in fans displaying an increased preference for healthy and environmentally friendly foods. Thus, framing, rivalry, and the result of the focal game all play central roles in the healthiness of fans’ behavior. We unpack implications for marketing scholars and consumer managers.

Background: It is well known that squat exercises are good for scoliosis patients. Especially wall facing squat (WS) is believed to be more effective than normal squat (NS). Objectives: In order to find out what effect the wall squat has on the rehabilitation exercise of patients with lumbar scoliosis compared to the conventional squat, the force between the lumbar segments was compared using a motion analysis system. Design: Quasi-experimental study. Methods: In this work, an attempt was made to provide a scientific basis for these experiences. Inverse dynamics simulations were performed for each of the 10 subjects with mild scoliosis during NS and WS using subject-specific 3D musculoskeletal models. Exercises with three sets of five cycle for NS or WS were performed. Muscle forces calculated from the simulations were compared with electromyography data for verification. Results: The imbalance of muscle forces between the right and left in erector spinae (ES) decreased with the progress of WS sets. The difference of 14.1% for the 1st set diminished to 1.8% during the 3rd set. Conclusion: The overall level of right and left ES muscle forces also increased from the 1st set to the 3rd set. The results of simulations indicated that WS was more effective than NS for scoliosis correction.

The site used for a nuclear facility can be released after decommissioning if the results of dose estimation meet the regulatory requirements and the site release is approved by the regulatory body. RESRAD-ONSITE, developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, is a computer code used to estimate the dose to the residents on radiologically contaminated sites. The dose estimation for site release should consider various exposure pathways, including inhalation, ingestion, and external exposure. This study used RESRAD-ONSITE to evaluate the internal exposure dose and identify radionuclides due to the intake of food produced on radiologically contaminated sites. The upper limit of the clearance level of radionuclides expected to remain at the site was used as the source terms for the dose evaluation. In addition, the amount of food intake per capita was obtained from eight countries using nuclear power generation as of 2020. The default values of RESRAD were used for other parameters except for intake by type of food and source terms. As a result of the dose evaluation, the contaminated water and vegetables showed a great contribution to the exposure dose. The dose due to tritium in drinking water was highest in the third year. In addition, regarding the intake of vegetables, the internal exposure due to 90Sr was the highest in the first year.

Al-B4C neutron absorbers are currently widely used to maintain the subcriticality of both wet and dry storage facilities of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), thus long-term and high-temperature material integrity of the absorbers has to be guaranteed for the expected operation periods of those facilities. Surface corrosion solely has been the main issue for the absorber performance and safety; however, the possibility of irradiation-assisted degradation has been recently suggested from an investigation on Al-B4C surveillance coupons used in a Korean spent nuclear fuel pool (SFP). Larger radiation damage than expectation was speculated to be induced from 10B(n, α)7Li reactions, which emit about a MeV α-particles and Li ions. In this study, we experimentally emulated the radiation damage accumulated in an Al-B4C neutron absorber utilizing heavy-ion accelerator. The absorber specimens were irradiated with He ions at various estimated system temperatures for a model SNF storage facility (room temperature, 150, 270, and 400°C). Through the in-situ heated ion irradiation, three exponentially increasing level of radiation damages (0.01, 0.1, and 1 dpa or displacement per atom) were achieved to compare differential gas bubble formation at near surface of the absorber, which could cause premature absorber corrosion and subsequential 10B loss in an SNF storage system. An extremely high radiation damage (10 dpa), which is unlikely achievable during a dry storage period, was also emulated through high temperature irradiation (350°C) to further test the radiation resistance of the absorber, conservatively. The irradiated specimens were characterized using HR-TEM and the average size and number density of radiation-induced He bubbles were measured from the obtained bright field (BF) TEM micrographs. Measured helium bubble sizes tend to increase with increasing system (or irradiation) temperature while decrease in their number density. Helium bubbles were found from even the lowest radiation damage specimens (0.01 dpa). Bubble coalescence was significant at grain boundaries and the irradiated specimen morphology was particularly similar with the bubble morphology observed at the interface between aluminum alloy matrix and B4C particle of the surveillance coupons. These characterized irradiated specimens will be used for the corrosion test with high-temperature humid gas to further study the irradiation-assisted degradation mechanism of the absorber in dry SNF storage system.

Destruxins (Dtxs) are insecticidal cyclic hexadepsipeptides produced by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Media composition for dtxs production was optimized with industrial grade media. Glycerol and casein peptone were selected as a carbon source and a nitrogen source, respectively. Dtxs production varied with C/N ratios. High yields of dtxs were observed at C/N ratios ranging 0.3 to 1.5, with concentrations mostly higher than 800 mg/L. Low yields were caused by high C/N ratio ranging from 3.0 to 8.0, resulting in less than 500 mg/L. The highest yield of Dtxs was obtained with 2% glycerol and 3% casein peptone, showing 192.2 mg/L of dtx A, 911.1 mg/L of dtx B, and 113.3 mg/L of dtx E, respectively. These results indicated that dtxs production is highly influenced by C/N ratio, especially the content of nitrogen source.