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Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the

An understanding of the knowledges, attitudes and perceptions of different populations is key for public health policy makers. Here, a survey was performed on knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about malaria diagnosis, prevention, control, and treatment. The 407 survey participants included both uninfected inhabitants and patients from 2 cities (Gimpo- and Paju-si) of Northern Gyeonggi-do, known as high-risk areas for vivax malaria. We used community-based study design and non-probability sampling method using the primary data. Association between variables were tested using χ2-tests. In general, the information on malaria reported by the participants in this study was unsystematic and included inaccurate details. The knowledge of malaria symptoms, identified as headache, chills and fever, was high, but the surveyed community lacks knowledge of the specific medications used for malaria treatment, with a large number of respondents having no knowledge of any form of medication. Survey questions with high correct answer rates included questions about easy treatment of malaria in Korea, the high daytime activity of malaria-borne mosquitoes, and the infection risk posed by outdoor activities. However, a large portion of the respondents was unable to provide simple medical and biological information about the disease. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practical behavior of the surveyed community with respect to malaria and the implications reported here could be applicable to other malaria endemic areas in Korea.

In this article, we present the results of the genetic analysis of

Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, are very important honey species for agriculture in Asian countries. In recent decades, A. cerana populations have sharply declined in all Asian countries as a result of Sacbrood Virus infection and have now recovered to their original size. It can change the genetic structure of local populations of A. cerana. We used the nuclear gene Vitellogenin VG to assess the genetic structure of local populations of A. cerana and the signature of adaptive selection. We performed a population genetic analysis of the honey bees A. cerana from South Korea in comparison with A. cerana samples from Russia, Japan, Nepal, and China. The sequences of the gene VG of a closely related honey bee species, A. mellifera, from India and Poland were used as outgroup samples. A comparative analysis of northern and southern A. cerana populations was performed. The signatures of positive adaptive selection were found in the local population of A. cerana. We performed the Tajima's neutrality D test for A. cerana populations from different local populations based on the gene VG exon sequences. All A. cerana populations showed signs of population size expansion following the possible recent decline in population sizes. The local populations of A. c. koreana were subdivided according to their geographical distribution into southern, northern, and central Korean clusters. The gene VG exon sequences can be used as informative markers for monitoring the changes in genetic structure and adaptation to the environment processes in A. cerana populations.

The circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium spp. is a diagnostic antigen and useful biomarker for monitoring short-term/seasonal changes to malaria transmission. Using P. vivax CSP antibody ELISA, epidemiological characteristics were analyzed in the residents of Ganghwa, Cheorwon, Paju, and Goseong from 2017 to 2018. In Ganghwa and Cheorwon, 1.6% and 1.2% of residents, respectively, were PvCSP-antibody-positive in 2018, which indicates a decrease of 0.4% in the positive rate compared to 2017. The annual parasite incidence (API) in Ganghwa and Cheorwon was 24.9 and 10.5 in 2017 and 20.3 and 10.7 in 2018, respectively. Although the changes were not significant, the API in Ganghwa decreased slightly by 4.5 in 2018 compared to the previous year. In Paju and Goseong, 3.9% and 2.0% of residents were positive for the PvCSP antibody. The API in Paju was 13.1 in 2017 and 16.0 in 2018, although no malaria patients were reported for the 2 years. Therefore, the results suggest that PvCSP is a useful antigen for confirming initial malaria infection. Additionally, considering that the antibody is relatively transient, it can be employed for sero-epidemiological studies to determine the extent of malaria transmission in the current year.

This study aimed to characterize the seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from April to November 2019 and 2020 on Ganghwa-do, Incheon Metropolitan City, Korea. The ticks were collected at grassland, grave site, copse and mountain road using a collection trap method. The ixodid hard ticks comprising three species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) collected were 6,622 in 2019 and 3,811 in 2020. H. longicornis was the most frequent (97.9% in 2019 and 96.0% in 2020), followed by H. flava (2.0% and 3.0% in 2019 and 2020, respectively) and I. nipponensis (less than 0.1%). Our study demonstrated that seasonal patterns of the tick populations examined for two years were totally unsimilar. The hard ticks tested using RT-qPCR were all negative for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.

The species of genus Varroa mites parasitize on the honey bees of genus Apis. Unlike the well-studied V. destructor and V. jacobsoni mites, V. underwoodi remain less known. According to English language publications, the proven V. underwoodi distribution area of A. cerana colonies covers Nepal, South Korea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and China, but not Russia even though it had been described morphometrically in Russian language publications in Russia's Primorsky Territory. According to Vavilov's law (1920) of a homologous series, all the species of V. underwoodi, V. destructor and V. jacobsoni have the ability to spill over onto new hosts. Thus, V. underwoodi is a potential parasite of A. mellifera that should be carefully studied. In this study, V. underwoodi mites in colonies of honey bee subspecies A. c. ussuriensis native to Russia's Primorsky Territory are first proven using both morphometry and mitochondrial COX1 gene sequencing. The genetic divergence and p-distances between V. underwoodi and other Varroa species ranged from 7 to 10% and from 0.072 to 0.099, respectively, which matched the intraspecific level of differences. Two identical northernmost V. underwoodi samples from Russia's Primorsky Territory and China's Jilin province with GenBank accession number MH205176 were assigned as COX1 haplotype China 1 MH205176. The first discovery of V. underwoodi in the Primorsky Territory in northern Asia outlined the northern border of its range.

One of the biggest obstacles in cancer treatment is the development of chemoresistance. To overcome this, attempts have been made to screen novel anticancer substances derived from natural products. The purpose of this study is to find new anticancer candidates in the mycelium culture extract of mushrooms belonging to

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the morphological characteristics of the extensor hallucis longus (EHL) tendon variation using larger-scale dissection of Korean cadavers and to classify the types of variation along with incidence. A total of 158 feet from adult formalin-fixed cadavers (50 males, 29 females) were dissected. The morphological characteristics and measurements of the EHL tendon variants were evaluated. Three types of the EHL tendon variation were classified, wherein the most common type was Type 2 (106 feet, 67.1%), Type 3 (3 feet, 1.9%) was the rarest type, and Type 1 without accessory tendon was found in 49 feet (31.0%). Type 2K (11 feet, 7%) and Type 3K (1 foot, 0.6%) were described as new subtypes. The present study suggests morphological characteristics of the EHL tendon variation in Korean populations and high morphological variability of the EHL tendon along with the possibility of differences according to race or ethnicity and gender. Furthermore, a newly updated classification complemented by new subtypes of variation will help foot and ankle surgeons in diagnosis and surgical planning with hallux problems.

Background: Microbiome in the mosquito plays an important role in their behavior and vector competence. The composition of their microbiome is strongly influenced by the environment, especially their habitat. Method: Using 16s rRNA Illumina sequencing, we here compare the microbial profiles in the adult female Anopheles sinensis from malaria hyperendemic and hypoendemic regions in the Republic of Korea. The microbiome analysis was performed using EzBioCloud and R software programs.Results: The major bacterial phylum was Proteobacteria. Most abundant microbiome of hyperendemic mosquito is from the genera Staphylococcus, Erwinia, Serratia, Pantoea. Especially, Pseudomonas synxantha group was prevalent in the hypoendemic area. The beta diversity analysis showed significant difference. The Cheorwon region (hyperendemic area 1) showed a specific microbiome profile among hyperendemic areas.Conclusion: This suggests that there may be a correlation between the microbiome profile and the incidence of malaria cases.

Varroa destructor is a well-known ectoparasite of the honey bee Apis mellifera. Amitraz and fluvalinate are highly effective miticides used against V. destructor infestation in colonies of honey bee A. mellifera. Though honey bees more resistant to miticides, there are side effects of these chemicals on the reproduction, olfaction, and honey production of honey bees. We showed a negative impact of miticides amitraz and fluvalinate on honey production and reproduction of honey bee colonies. Also, we assumed the reduction of olfaction of honey bees by fluvalinate due to changes of expression of olfactory related neuropeptide genes short neuropeptide F sNPF, tachykinin TK, short neuropeptide F receptor sNPFR. The external treatment of honey bee colonies by miticides amitraz and fluvalinate along with a positive effect of pest control harms reproductivity, honey productivity, and, probably, can reduce learning and memory, gustation and olfaction of honey bees. When used for a short time and with care, miticides can be less harmful to honey bees. Breeding varroa-resistant honey bees allow to reduce the use of miticides and produce organic honey. Therefore, the further development of beekeeping should be in the direction of selection for disease and Varroa resistance and adaptation to the environment., Varroa, bal arısı Apis mellifera'nın iyi bilinen bir ektoparazitidir. Amitraz ve fluvalinat, bal arısı A. mellifera kolonilerinde V. destructor istilasına karşı kullanılan oldukça yüksek etkili akarisitlerdir. Bal arıları, akarisitlere karşı daha dirençli olsalar da, bu kimyasalların bal arılarının üreme, koku alma ve bal üretimi üzerinde yan etkileri vardır. Bu çalışma ile Akarisitler olan amitraz ve fluvalinatın bal üretimi ve bal arısı kolonilerinin üremesi üzerinde olumsuz bir etkisi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, bal arılarının Fluvalinat’a bağlı olarak koku alma duyusunun azalması durumunu ilgili nöropeptid genlerinin kısa nöropeptid F sNPF, taşikinin TK, kısa nöropeptid F reseptörü sNPFR ifadesindeki değişiklik olduğunu varsaydık. Bal arısı kolonilerinin akarisitler olan amitraz ve fluvalinate ile kontrol edilmesi, haşere kontrolünün olumlu etkisiyle birlikte üremeye, bal verimliliğine zarar verir ve muhtemelen bal arılarının öğrenmesini ve hafızasını, lezzetini ve kokusunu muhtemelen azaltabilir. Kısa bir süre ve özenle kullanıldığında, akarisit kullanımı bal arılarına daha az zarar verebilir. Varroaya dirençli bal arılarının yetiştirilmesi, akarisit kullanımını azaltmaya ve organik bal üretmeye izin verir. Bu nedenle, arıcılığın daha da geliştirilmesi için seçim; hastalıklara, Varroa’ya dirençli ve çevreye uyum yönünde olmalıdır.

The taxonomy of honey bee A. mellifera contains a lot of issues due to the specificity of population structure, features of biology and resolutions of honey bee subspecies discrimination methods. There are a lot of transition zones between ranges of subspecies which led to the gradual changes of characteristics among neighbor subspecies. The modern taxonomic pattern of honey bee Apis mellifera is given in this paper. Thirty-three distinct honey bee subspecies are distributed across all Africa (11 subspecies), Western Asia and the Middle East (9 subspecies), and Europe (13 subspecies). All honey bee subspecies are subdivided into 5 evolutionary lineages: lineage A (10 subspecies) and its sublineage Z (3 subspecies), lineage M (3 subspecies), lineage C (10 subspecies), lineage O (3 subspecies), lineage Y (1 subspecies), lineage C or O (3 subspecies).

The purposes of this study were to ascertain the morphological characteristics of a plantaris tendon (PT) insertion using a larger-scale dissection of Korean cadavers and to classify the types of PT insertion related to the calcaneal tendon (CT). A total of 108 feet from adult formalin-fixed cadavers (34 males, 20 females) were dissected. The morphological characteristics and measurements of the PT insertion were evaluated. Five types of PT insertion were classified, wherein the most common type was Type 1 (39 feet, 63.1%). Type 2 and Type 3 were similar, with 16 feet (14.8%) and 15 feet (13.9%), respectively. Type 4 (6 feet, 5.6%) was the rarest type, and Type 5 had 25 feet (23.1%). The case of an absent PT was noted in 7 feet (6.5%). In the proximal portion, the tendon had a thick and narrow shape, became thin and wide in the middle portion, and then changed to thick and narrow again just before the insertion into the calcaneal tuberosity. This study confirmed the five types according to the location of the PT and the area of its insertion-related CT. The morphology of the PT insertion may be anatomically likely to influence the occurrence of tendinopathy in the CT.

In this paper, a novel chip antenna and its function in wireless connectivity are presented for Bluetooth (BLT) earphones. The chip antenna is a metamaterial so compact (

Effective population size reflects the history of population growth, contraction, and structuring. When the effect of structuring is negligible, the inferred trajectory of the effective population size can be informative about the key events in the history of a population. We used the IBDNe and DoRIS approaches, which exploit the data on IBD sharing between genomes, to reconstruct the recent effective population size in two population datasets of Russians from Eastern European plain: (1) ethnic Russians sampled from the westernmost part of Russia; (2) ethnic Russians, Bashkirs, and Tatars sampled from the Volga-Ural region. In this way, we examined changes in effective population size among ethnic Russians that reside in their historical area at the West of the plain, and that expanded eastward to come into contact with the indigenous peoples at the East of the plain. We compared the inferred demographic trajectories of each ethnic group to written historical data related to demographic events such as migration, war, colonization, famine, establishment, and collapse of empires. According to IBDNe estimations, 200 generations (~6000 years) ago, the effective size of the ancestral populations of Russians, Bashkirs, and Tatars hovered around 3,000, 30,000, and 8,000 respectively. Then, the ethnic Russians exponentially grew with increasing rates for the last 115 generations and become the largest ethnic group of the plain. Russians do not show any drop in effective population size after the key historical conflicts, including the Mongol invasion. The only exception is a moderate drop in the 17th century, which is well known in Russian history as The Smuta. Our analyses suggest a more eventful recent population history for the two small ethnic groups that came into contact with ethnic Russians in the Volga-Ural region. We found that the effective population size of Bashkirs and Tatars started to decrease during the time of the Mongol invasion. Interestingly, there is an even stronger drop in the effective population size that coincides with the expansion of Russians to the East. Thus, 15–20 generations ago, i.e. in the 16–18th centuries in the trajectories of Bashkirs and Tatars, we observe the bottlenecks of four and twenty thousand, respectively. Our results on the recent effective population size correlate with the key events in the history of populations of the Eastern European plain and have importance for designing biomedical studies in the region.

Apis cerana Fabricius, 1793 is the eastern honeybee species distributed throughout Asia from the tropical climate in the southern part to the temperate climate in the northern part. We sequenced and annotated the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of A. cerana from Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai of the Russian Far East and uploaded it to the database GenBank (AP018450). MtDNA sequence has 15,919 bp length, AT-content 84% and GC-content 16% and contains 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, one AT-rich region and four non-coding intergenic regions (NC1-4). All proteincoding genes start with ATT and ATG codons, except for ATC, the start codon of the ATP8 gene, which and stop with the common stop codons TAA and TAG. A comparative analysis of complete mtDNA of A. cerana from China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan found that the Russian Far East Apis cerana differed from others on the subspecies level. Based on the comparative analysis of complete mtDNA (~16,000 bp), nuclear DNA (nDNA) gene Vitellogenin (VG) (~4,100 bp) and morphological measurements (six parameters), we assumed that the Russian Far-East A. cerana can be a distinct northern Asia population and can be described as a separate unique subspecies of A. c. ussuriensis subsp. nov. A. c. koreana subsp. nov. is also validated and described as a new subspecies.

Mitochondria are one of organelles that undergo significant changes associated with senescence. An increase in mitochondrial size is observed in senescent cells, and this increase is ascribed to the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria that generate excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Such dysfunctional mitochondria are prime targets for ROS-induced damage, which leads to the deterioration of oxidative phosphorylation and increased dependence on glycolysis as an energy source. Based on findings indicating that senescent cells exhibit mitochondrial metabolic alterations, a strategy to induce mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming has been proposed to treat aging and age-related diseases. In this review, we discuss senescence-related mitochondrial changes and consequent mitochondrial metabolic alterations. We assess the significance of mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming for senescence regulation and propose the appropriate control of mitochondrial metabolism to ameliorate senescence. Learning how to regulate mitochondrial metabolism will provide knowledge for the control of aging and age-related pathologies. Further research focusing on mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming will be an important guide for the development of anti-aging therapies, and will provide novel strategies for anti-aging interventions.

In this paper, an intuitive approach to assessing advantages of beamforming in 5G wireless communication is proposed as a novel try and practical demonstration of importance of alignment between the transmitter’s and receiver’s beams working in millimeter-wave frequency bands. Since the diffraction loss of millimeter-wave signals matters seriously in propagation, the effects of the misalignment and alignment between beams need to be checked for, which was conducted with a horn antenna and the 4 × 4 Butler matrix which mimic the relationship of the base station and handset antennas. Designing and using the microstrip-line and the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) Butler matrices, RF-to-RF wireless connectivity between the horn and the microstrip line beamformer as case 1 and the horn and the SIW beamformer as case 2, concerning the changing angle of the beam from either of the two Butler matrices, was tested, showing over 12 dB enhancement in received power. This direct electromagnetic link test was accompanied by examining 64-QAM constellations for beam-angle changing from −30° to +30° for the two cases, where the error vector magnitude in the QAM-diagram becomes less than 10% by beam-alignment for the changing angle.

The variations in the tibialis posterior tendon (TPT) could not be defined by previous classification, thus, this study used a larger-scale cadaver with the aim to classify the types of TPT insertion based on the combination of the number and location of TPT insertions. A total of 118 feet from adult formalin-fixed cadavers were dissected (68 males, 50 females). The morphological characteristics and measurements of TPT insertion were evaluated. Four types of TPT insertions were classified, wherein the most common type was type 4 (quadruple insertions, 78 feet, 66.1%), which was divided into four new subtypes that were not defined in the previous classification. The second most common type was type 3 (triple insertions, 25 feet, 21.2%) with three subtypes, including the new subtype. Type 2 was found in 13 feet (11%), and the rarest type was type 1 (2 feet, 1.7%), wherein the main tendon was only attached to the navicular bone and the medial cuneiform bone. We suggest high morphological variability of the TPT in relation to the insertion location, along with the possibility of significant differences according to race and gender. Moreover, this classification will help clinicians understand adult flatfoot deformity-related posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD).

Background The skin incision for medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy (MDCO) often damages the sural nerve. We aimed to identify the practical reference area in which the surgeon can incise the skin to minimize the injury of the sural nerve during MDCO. Methods The foot and ankles of 20 cadavers were dissected. The landmarks were the following four anatomical references: point A, the tip of the lateral malleolus; point B, the inferior margin of the calcaneus on the vertical line through point A; point C, the posteroinferior apex of the calcaneus; and point D, the lateral border of the Achilles tendon on the horizontal line through point A. The distances from the sural nerve to points A and B in the vertical direction (lines D1 and D2, respectively), to points A and C in the diagonal direction (lines D3 and D4, respectively), and to points A and D in the horizontal direction (lines D5 and D6, respectively) were measured. Results The median ratios of D1 to D1+D2, D3 to D3+D4, and D5 to D5+D6 were 0.34 (range 0.25 to 0.45), 0.23 (range 0.16 to 0.33), and 0.38 (range 0.26 to 0.50), respectively. Conclusions The distance ratios according to easily identifiable references would be a more practical incision strategy for surgeons to minimize sural nerve injury in both open and minimally invasive/percutaneous MDCO.