This study evaluated the immunogenicity of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in a guinea pig model to refine preclinical assessment methods. 24 guinea pigs were divided into four groups for immunohistochemical, histopathological, and molecular analyses, including qRT-PCR and ELISA. The ELISA results revealed significant elevations in interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon-gamma (IFN- ), and tuberculosis-specific antibodies in vaccinated guinea pigs, particularly γ notable after 6 weeks. Although lung cytokine levels remained unchanged, spleen gene expression showed significant differences in interleukin-17, interleukin-12, interleukin-1β, and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 after 6 weeks. Immunohistochemistry revealed peak IL-2 expression at 8 weeks and significant IFN-γ and TNF-α expression at 6 weeks. This study confirmed the effectiveness of BCG vaccine in guinea pigs, providing crucial insights for future tuberculosis vaccine development and standardizing immune response indicators.

본 연구는 웹툰 IP 기반의 게임의 성공과 실폐 사례를 분석하고 안정적인 웹툰의 게임화를 위 해 웹툰 장르별 특성에 맞는 텍스트 기반 게임 유형을 제안한다. 로맨스, 판타지, 액션, 스릴러, 드라마, 코미디 등 다양한 웹툰 장르와 인터랙티브 소설, RPG, 턴제 전투게임, 텍스트 어드벤처 등 게임 장르를 매칭하여 각 장르의 핵심 요소를 게임 메커니즘으로 전환하는 방안을 제시한 다. 또한 텍스트 기반 게임의 장점으로 상상력 자극, 깊이 있는 스토리텔링, 상호작용성 증대 등을 언급하며, 이를 통해 웹툰 IP의 확장과 팬 참여 촉진 가능성을 탐구한다.

최근 딥러닝은 자기공명영상 검사에서의 화질 개선을 위해 다양하게 활용되고 있다. 하지만 다양한 자기공명영상 검사에서 딥러닝이 적용된 기법과 상황에 대한 평가는 부족한 편이다. 이에 본 연구에서는 모션 ACR(American College of Radiology) 팬텀을 활용하여 일반적인 상황과 움직이는 상황에서 T2-PROPELLER(periodically, rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction, PROPELLER)와 T2-FSE(fast spin echo, FSE) 기법의 화질을 비교 평가해 보고자 하였다. 연구 결과 움직이지 않는 상황에서의 딥러닝 프로세스를 적용하였을 때 유의미한 신호대잡음비와 대조대잡음비의 상승을 보였다. 하지만 팬텀에 움직임을 주는 동적인 상황 에서 딥러닝 프로세스를 적용하였을 때 유의미한 화질 개선을 보이지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 딥러닝 프로세스를 절대 적으로 사용하기보다 다양한 상황에 맞게 선택적으로 적용하는 것이 필요할 것으로 사료된다.

Diatoms, which are reported to have over 18,000 species worldwide and approximately 2,400 species in Korea, can be found in various environments including freshwater, seawater, and wetlands. They are particularly valuable for understanding global environmental changes throughout history due to their ability to maintain their shape for extended periods of time. Instead of collecting floating diatoms using nets, low-layer substrates such as gravel and leaves, as well as sedimentary surface layers, were gathered in order to identify attached diatom species. This is because attached diatoms demonstrate higher species diversity compared to floating diatoms. In this study, seven previously unrecorded diatoms were discovered in various domestic freshwater environments. Two species were found in reservoirs (Eunotia yanomami, Gomphonella pseudookunoi), two in parasitic cones (Eunotia carverenensis, Luticola minor), two in rivers (Cavinula maculata and Prestauroneis integra), and one (Surirella brebissonii var. kuetzingii) in a lagoon. The shapes, structures, and morphological characteristics of each diatom were identified using electron microscopy.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition characterized by continuous inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that varies in intensity over time. IBD is caused by several factors including aberrant gut flora, immunological dysregulation, altered environmental conditions, and genetic variations. However, the pathogenesis of IBD remains unclear. Studies have indicated that an imbalance between T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells contributes significantly to the development of IBD. Intestinal Tregs suppress inflammation and are critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis. Th17 cells are known to play an important role in the development and pathogenesis of IBD and provide non-inflammatory support for the integrity of the intestinal barrier against bacterial and fungal infections. Therefore, the Th17/Treg cell balance is crucial in the pathogenesis of IBD and gut integrity. The microenvironment of the intestinal mucosal immunity is regulated by the secretion of cytokines associated with Th17 cells and Tregs. Several studies have indicated that the gut bacteria contribute to the control of the immune milieu and play a key role in the regulation of Th17 cell development. Intestinal bacteria and cytokines control Th17 cell development. Th17 cells secrete cytokines that regulate the immune microenvironment in the gut mucosa. This review provides an overview of Th17 cells and examines the strategies for treating patients with IBD using Th17 cell-targeted drugs.

The Euonymus defoliator moth, Pryeria sinica Moore (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae), is a pest that causes considerable damage to the Euonymus genus, especially Euonymus alatus and Euonymus japonicus. The biological characteristics of P. sinica have been studied in China, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, but there has been no research conducted on this species in Korea. Also, P. sinica has two dormant phases in each generation, one as eggs in winter and the other as pupae in summer. Our purposes are to study the biological characteristics of Korean populations of P. sinica and to examine the effects of temperature and photoperiod on summer diapause. The biological characteristics were investigated in laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 ℃, 65 ± 1% R.H., 16L:8D) and the number of eggs in an egg mass, developmental periods and mortality rate in each larvae stage, and adults’ life span were determined. The results showed that 190.7 ± 31.64 eggs were contained in one egg mass and it took 25.57 ± 0.61 days from 1st larval stage to the pre-pupal stage. P. sinica has 4 larval stages and each stage took 4.28 ± 0.21, 6.2 ± 0.55, 6.02 ± 0.68, and 8.93 ± 0.88 days. The mortality rate of larvae peaked at 22.5% in 3rd larval stage. The adults’ life span was 4.67 ± 0.97 days in males and 4.61 ± 1.82 days in females. To study summer diapause, we divided pupae into 4 groups. Both low temperature and short daytime were effective in shortening the pupal stage. The pupal stage was the shortest in group D (122.12 ± 1.24 days), in which the initial condition was 25 ℃-16L:8D and the altered condition was 16 ℃ -12L:12D, and the longest in group A (161.92 ± 3.15 days, 25 ℃-16L:8D). These data could be utilized to propose the optimal timing for controlling the population of P. sinica.

The Korea Forest Service has designated seven alpine tree species—Abies koreana, A. nephrolepis, Juniperus chinensis, Picea jezoensis, Pinus pumila, Taxus cuspidata, and Thuja koraiensis—as threatened with extinction in Korea. In 2023, we conducted a study on the seasonal occurrence of insect pests, focusing mainly on two coleopteran taxa (Cerambycidae and Scolytinae) and two hemipteran taxa (Aphrophoridae and Cicadellidae) in subalpine forests dominated by A. koreana, A. nephrolepis, Picea jezoensis, Thuja koraiensis, and Taxus cuspidata. We utilized three types of traps—Malaise trap, Lindgren funnel trap, and window trap—in eight investigation locations in Korea. In this presentation, we present the study results and discuss the effects of insect pests on alpine coniferous trees in Korea.

The emergence of ferrous-medium entropy alloys (FeMEAs) with excellent tensile properties represents a potential direction for designing alloys based on metastable engineering. In this study, an FeMEA is successfully fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), a metal additive manufacturing technology. Tensile tests are conducted on the LPBF-processed FeMEA at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures (77 K). At 77 K, the LPBF-processed FeMEA exhibits high yield strength and excellent ultimate tensile strength through active deformation-induced martensitic transformation. Furthermore, due to the low stability of the face-centered cubic (FCC) phase of the LPBFprocessed FeMEA based on nano-scale solute heterogeneity, stress-induced martensitic transformation occurs, accompanied by the appearance of a yield point phenomenon during cryogenic tensile deformation. This study elucidates the origin of the yield point phenomenon and deformation behavior of the FeMEA at 77 K.

Korean historical literatures offer numerous records on astronomical phenomena such as eclipses, comets, and close approaches, etc. Records of close approaches often use specific terms to describe the angular distance, which lack translation into modern numerical values. We study the usage of the five commonly used terms, namely, Entry (入, En), Invasion (犯, In), Occultation (掩, Oc), Eclipse (食, Ec), as well as the unit Chi (尺). Our analysis is based on more than 2,300 records from Goryeo (918–1392 CE) and Joseon (1392–1910 CE) Dynasties. Through statistical analysis, we determine their quantitative definitions. We convert the lunisolar calendar to the Julian and Gregorian date and utilize the modern ephemeris DE431 to calculate the angular distance between celestial bodies. We find that the angular distances of the terms En, In, Oc, and Ec correspond to respectively 1.78◦+2.36 −1.11, 0.89◦+3.54 −0.51, 0.44◦+1.15 −0.31, and 0.29◦+2.61 −0.16 for the Goryeo Dynasty and 1.36◦+1.15 −0.64, 0.51◦+1.11 −0.32, 0.25◦+0.27 −0.17, and 0.21◦+0.25 −0.11 for the Joseon Dynasty. Additionally, we determine the angular size of the unit Chi by using the records from Korean chronicles along with the drawings of comets’ tails in the Daily Log (天變謄錄). We estimate the unit Chi to be 1.11◦+0.46 −0.40 and find that the numerical definition was consistent throughout the two dynasties in Korea. Furthermore, we find that the terms were used to describe the closest approach and that there is no observational bias in the angular distances against the apparent magnitudes of the objects. We show that the terms En, In, Oc, and Ec represent decreasing angular distance in that order and this ordering was consistent in both dynasties.

In recent times, there has been a significant demand for supercapacitors in energy storage applications due to their rapid charging– discharging capabilities, high power density, and excellent stability. Nevertheless, the synthesis of electrode materials with a substantial surface area, exceptionally high porosity, and superior electrochemical performance is still challenging. Activated carbons with a distinctive porous structure and exceptional electrochemical properties emerged as promising electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this study, we used a porous activated carbon (PAC) derived from petroleum coke followed by KOH activation as an efficient anodic electrode material. The ultra-high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 2105.6 m2 g− 1 with stacked layers of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional hexagonal structure makes the PAC an efficient candidate for a supercapacitor electrode. The PAC delivers a specific capacitance of 470 F g− 1 at a current density of 0.5 A g− 1 over a potential window of 0 to −1 V. The excellent cycling stability in a three-electrode setup with a capacitance retention of ⁓98% even at a high current density of 10 A g− 1 makes the PAC a potential anodic electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor applications.