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In the present study, in order to enhance the performance of ceramic microfiltration (MF) water treatment process, several pre-treatment processes such as adsorption, coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation were examined under harsh conditions (kaolin of 50 mg/L with a humic acid of 1000 mg/L). A jar-test of batch coagulation/flocculation (C/F) experiments showed that the optimum coagulant (A-PAC, 10.6 % as Al2O3) dosage was 5 mg/L. Moreover, batch adsorption experiments revealed that the powdered activated carbon dosage of 20 mg/L with stirring for 30 min was the optimum condition. When the ceramic MF process was operated at the flux of 5 m3/m2/d, the implication of integrated coagulation/flocculation/adsorption (C/F/A-Mem) could lead to a better improvement of the removal ratio (DOC, UV254, and turbidity) compared with other integrated procedures. In terms of the filtration resistances, the integrated pre-treatment and ceramic MF processes are mitigating fouling problems compared with the single ceramic MF process, which means that the single ceramic MF process was not effective to operate with a stable TMP and produce suitable water qualities of the permeate water. Based on the results, the integrated C/F/A followed by the ceramic MF process was the best approach to produce better qualities water with long-term stability.

This study was performed to verify the possibility of manufacturing Rhizopus oligosporus ‘Koji’, which is cultured using a range of different substrates. The growth characteristics of R. oligosporus were therefore investigated for the preparation of R. oligosporus ‘Koji’, and the optimal incubation conditions were determined to be 30 °C for 24 h, with an optimal NaCl concentration were 5%. Based on these results, R. oligosporus was incubated using three substrates, namely beans, rice and a mixture of beans and rice, for 6 d, and the enzyme activities and volatile compounds of the fermentation products were investigated. On the fourth day of incubation, the α-amylase activities of the rice and the mixed substrates were 155 and 42 unit/mL, respectively, while on the fifth day of incubation, the neutral protease activities of the beans and the mixed substrate were 14 and 15 unit/mL, respectively. In terms of the lipase activity, the mixed substrate resulted in a higher activity than the other substrates. Various volatile flavor compounds, including alcohols, ketones, esters, aldehydes, and pyrazines, were identified in R. oligosporus ‘Koji’ cultured using the mixed substrate.

Red pepper, one of the major economic crops in Korea, is being affected by anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum acutatum. To control this disease, an antagonistic bacterial strain, Bacillus subtilis YGB36 identified by 16S rDNA sequencing, physiological and biochemical analyses is used as a biological control agent. In vitro screening revealed that the strain YGB36 possess strong antifungal activity against the pathogen Cylindrocarpon destructans. The strain exhibited cellulase, protease, amylase, siderophore production and phosphate solubility. In vitro conidial germination of C. acutatum was most drastically inhibited by YGB36 cell suspensions (106 cfu/ml) or culture filtrate. Development of anthracnose symptoms was reduced on detached immature green pepper fruits by treatment with cell suspensions, and its control value was recorded as 65.7%. The YGB36 bacterial suspension treatment enhanced the germination rate of red pepper seeds and promoted root development and growth under greenhouse conditions. The in vitro screening of fungicide and insecticide sensitivity test against YGB36 revealed that the bacterial growth was not affected by any of the insecticides, and 11 fungicides out of 21 used. Collectively, our results clearly suggest that the strain YGB36 is considered as one of the potential biocontrol agents against anthracnose disease in red pepper.

Considering that earthquakes are largely unpredictable and unpreventable by nature, it is critical to evacuate victims promptly to a safe location in case of a sudden occurrence. The lessons from Japan indicate a crucial role of urban parks perform as a safe shelter for earthquake evacuation, but urban parks in South Korea have not yet served such a role. This paper studies the need to improve and reform the legal system of South Korea to bolster the function of urban parks to prevent earthquake disasters. This study finds that the current legal framework has a limitation in installing disaster prevention facilities to assist evacuation and relief activities. In order to establish the function of earthquake disaster prevention in South Korea, the Urban Park Act should be amended to include urban parks as well as theme parks as a disaster prevention facility. In addition, the Framework Act on the National Land should include clauses on earthquakes. Lastly, the National Land Planning and Utilization Act should incorporate the prevention of earthquake and other disasters into its basic principles of land planning and management.

The demand for display technology is expected to increase with the continuous spread of portable electronics and with the expected emergence of flexible, wearable, and transparent display devices. A touch screen is a critical component in display technology that enables user interface operations, and the future generation of touch screens, the so-called 3D touch screens, is expected to be able to detect multiple levels of pressure. To enable 3D touch screens, transparent pressure sensors with high linearity over a working range that encompasses the pressure range of human touch (10-100 kPa) are required. In this work, a transparent and linear capacitive pressure sensor is reported with a transmittance over 85% and high linearity (R2 = 0.995) over 5-100 kPa of pressure. To render the sensor transparent, a microstructured "hard" elastomer layer was filled in with a refractive index matching a "soft" elastomer layer, through which light scattering was minimized. High linearity was attained from the sensor's unique architecture that increases the effective area of the capacitor with applied pressure. These attributes render our sensor highly suitable for future 3D touch screen applications.

In this paper, the athermal performance of a long-range oblique photography (LOROP) sensor with an all-SiC telescope is described. The dual-band LOROP sensor includes a visible and nearinfrared (VNIR) band and a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) band, which use a common reflective mirror system. The Cassegrain telescope is composed entirely of SiC to achieve an athermal characteristic. During the flight, a thermal effect on the optical system is observed to be negligible, and the athermal performance was found to be extremely stable. Particularly, no performance degradations due to the temperature gradient were observed.

Influenza viruses cause respiratory infections in humans with high morbidity and mortality rates. Neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir and peramivir are the most commonly used drugs for influenza virus infections. However, the emergence of resistant viruses necessitates the urgent need to develop next-generation anti-influenza drugs. Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) is widely cultivated and used as food worldwide. In addition, soybean has long been used as a nutritional supplement and herbal medicine. However, the potential anti-influenza properties of the soybean cultivar "GL 2626/96″ (SG2626) are yet to be investigated. Herein, we determined whether the ethanolic extract of SG2626 (SG2626E) has anti-viral activity through performing SG2626E pre-, co-, and post-treatment assays, using the influenza green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged influenza A/PR/8/34 (A/PR/8/34-GFP) virus. SG2626E showed anti-influenza virus activity in pre- and co-treated cells in a dose-dependent manner, but not in post-treated cells. SG2626E imparted a considerable inhibitory effect on influenza A virus (IAV) infection through blocking viral attachment. SG2626E inhibited the activity of viral hemagglutinin, but not viral neuraminidase of the IAV. SG2626E inhibited IAV infection by reducing intracellular calcium levels in infected human lung epithelial A549 cells. Additionally, SG2626E reduced body weight loss, decreased mortality, and increased the survival rate through reducing viral replication in the lungs of IAV-infected mice. Overall, these results suggest that SG2626E inhibits IAV infection and is a potential novel anti-influenza agent.

Susceptible host plants challenged by fungal pathogens can display different types of lesions, which can be attributed to environmental factors affecting the nature of interactions between the host and pathogen. During our survey of apple anthracnose in Korea, two distinct types of disease symptoms, designated as progressive (PS) and static symptoms (SS), were recognized. PS is a typical, rapidly enlarging symptom of apple anthracnose, while SS is a small, dark speck that does not expand further until the harvesting season. Isolation and genotyping of pathogens from disease lesions suggested that all of them belong toColletotrichum gloeosporioides, a well-known causal agent of apple anthracnose. Two types of isolates were comparable in growth on media, spore germination and appressorium formation, virulence test on fruits at various temperature conditions. Furthermore, they were analyzed at the molecular level by a phylogenetic tree, RNA-seq, and expression of virulence gene. However, the SS isolates were defective in appressorium-mediated penetration into the underlying substratum. RNA-seq analysis of PS and SS isolates showed that distinct transcriptional programs underlie the development of different types of anthracnose symptoms in host plants. One downregulated gene in SS encoded isocitrate lyase is essential for disease developmentviaits involvement in the glyoxylate cycle. It partly explains why SS is less virulent than PS on host plants. Overall, our work challenges the traditional view on the development of different lesion types and provides valuable insights into variations that exist in the pathogen population.

Immunoglobulin M nephropathy (IgMN) is an idiopathic glomerulonephritis characterized by diffuse deposits of IgM in the glomerular mesangium. However, its renal prognosis remains unknown. We compared renal outcomes of IgMN patients with those of patients with minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), or mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) from a prospective observational cohort, with 1791 patients undergoing native kidney biopsy in eight hospitals affiliated with The Catholic University of Korea between December 2014 and October 2020. IgMN had more mesangial proliferation and matrix expansion than MsPGN and more tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis than MCD. IgMN patients had decreased eGFR than MCD patients in the earlier follow-up. However, there was no significant difference in urine protein or eGFR among all patients at the last follow-up. When IgMN was divided into three subtypes, patients with FSGS-like IgMN tended to have lower eGFR than those with MCD-like or MsPGN-like IgMN but higher proteinuria than MsPGN-like IgMN without showing a significant difference. The presence of hypertension at the time of kidney biopsy predicted ≥20% decline of eGFR over two years in IgMN patients. Our data indicate that IgMN would have a clinical course and renal prognosis similar to MCD, FSGS, and MsPGN.

We investigated the impact of acute kidney injury (AKI) in elderly deceased-donors (DDs) vs. AKI in young DDs on post-transplant clinical outcomes. A total of 709 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) from 602 DDs at four transplant centers were enrolled. KTRs were divided into young-DDKT and elderly-DDKT groups according to the age of DD of 60 years. Both groups were subdivided into non-AKI-KT and AKI-KT subgroups according to AKI in DDs. We investigated short-term and long-term clinical outcomes of non-AKI-DDKT and AKI-DDKT subgroups within young-DDKT and elderly-DDKT groups. The incidence of DGF in the AKI-DDKT subgroup was higher and the allograft function within 12 months after KT in the AKI-DDKT subgroup was lower than those in the non-AKI-DDKT subgroup in both young-DDKT and elderly-DDKT groups. Death-censored allograft survival rate was significantly lower in the AKI-elderly-DDKT subgroup than that in the non-AKI-elderly-DDKT subgroup, but it did not differ between AKI-young-DDKT and non-AKI-young-DDKT subgroup. In multivariable analysis, AKI-elderly-DDKT was an independent risk factor for allograft failure (hazard ratio: 2.648, 95% CI: 1.170–5.994, p = 0.019) and a significant interaction between AKI and old age in DDs on allograft failure was observed (p = 0.001). AKI in elderly DDs, but not in young DDs, can significantly affect long-term allograft outcomes of KTRs.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different extracts of Diospyros lotus leaves in atopic dermatitis Methods: Diospyros lotus leaves were extracted in ethanol and treated with or without hydrochloric acid or α-rhamnosidase to obtain three different extracts-ethanol, acid-hydrolyzed, and enzyme-hydrolyzed leaf extracts of date plum. The myricitrin content in all samples was measured using HPLC analysis. In vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts were determined by measuring DPPH radical scavenging activities and nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells, respectively. Seven- week-old male hairless mice were used to evaluate the anti-atopic dermatitis effects of three extracts in vivo. Splenocytes and mast cells were used to further determine the anti-atopic dermatitis effects of the major compound in the ethanol leaf extract. Results: Enzyme-hydrolyzed leaf extract showed significant in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and attenuated atopic dermatitis-like skin symptoms and clinical signs more significantly than ethanol and acid-hydrolyzed leaf extracts in 1-fluoro-2,4- dinitrobenzene and house dust mite antigen-treated hairless mice. Enzyme-hydrolyzed leaf extract also suppressed the serum level of immunoglobulin E, interleukin (IL)-4, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, thymic stromal lymphopoietin, and thymus and activation-regulated chemokine in mice with atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, histological analysis revealed that enzyme- hydrolyzed leaf extract suppressed the increased epidermal thickness, dermal infiltration of inflammatory cells, and infiltration and degranulation of mast cells more markedly than the other two extracts in atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions. In addition, this extract effectively inhibited the production of IFN-γ, IL-4,and thymus and activation-regulated chemokine compared with the other two extracts in concanavalin A-stimulated splenocytes. Myricitrin, a major compound of enzyme-hydrolyzed leaf extract, suppressed atopic dermatitis biomarkers in stimulated mouse splenocytes and HMC-1 human mast cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that enzyme-hydrolyzed leaf extract might be a potential candidate to treat atopic dermatitis.

During the year 2018, the symptoms of bunch rot on Shine Muscat (Vitis vinifera L.) were observed in Kimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk province in Korea. The disease appears on the Shine Muscat as a black rot due to prolific fungal sporulation after it has invaded into the Shine Muscat which look completely empty and dryness. Colonies of these fungi are present on the Shine Muscat skin from fruit setting and increase in amount from early season to harvest, while become peak at ripening stage. To isolate the causal agent, small fragments (2 to 3 mm) of decayed tissue from the lesion margin were placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. Fungal colonies on PDA produced dense white aerial mycelium and then covered with dark black conidial heads. These heads were large and radiate, and vesicles were globose (2.12–32.0×2.0–3.1 μm). Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, this fungus was identified as Aspergillus tubingensis. To confirm its identity, the internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin, and RNA polymerase II was sequenced for molecular identification. BLAST search indicated 99% identity with A. tubingensis. The pathogenicity test on healthy grape of Shine Muscat produced bunch rot, as the original symptoms. To select effective fungicides for the control of brunch rot, an in vitro antifungal activity of seven fungicides were evaluated against the growth of A. tubingensis. Five fungicides (dipenoconazole, tebuconazole, metconazole, iminoctadine, and captan) exhibited significantly strong suppression of the mycelial growth of A. tubingensis.

Analyses of sea spikes are presented for data measured at low grazing angles using a high-resolution X-band radar. To investigate the spikiness of sea clutter at different range resolutions...

Despite the inhibitory effect of various ginsenosides on neuroinflammation, pharmacological activity of ginsenosides varies depending on their hydrolysis by individual intestinal microbial flora and may not appear in individuals with intestinal microbial deficiency. Herein, we investigated the hydrolytic selectivity of β-glucosidase from Lactobacillus antri toward sugar residues in ginsenoside to selectively enhance the effective minor ginsenoside contents and improve their anti-neuroinflammatory activity in BV2 microglia. The hydrolytic selectivity of β-glucosidase was dependent on the position and linkage type of sugar residues. Hydrolysis of ginseng extract and its mimic indicated that the predominant hydrolytic selectivity of β-glucosidase toward P1 (β1→6 linkage), P4, and P2 residues led to the selective production of minor ginsenoside Rd at the early stage and Rg3, Rh1, and A-PPD at the late stage, which resulted in the enhanced anti-neuroinflammatory activity of hydrolyzed ginseng mimic by inhibiting the production of inflammatory mediators in BV2 microglial cells, particularly at the late stage of hydrolysis. This study suggests that the insight into the hydrolytic selectivity of β-glucosidase will help in selecting appropriate substrates hydrolyzed well and in enhancing the contents of desired deglycosylated compounds, including minor ginsenosides, to improve their efficacy on specific target diseases, including those caused by neuroinflammation.

본 연구는 청소년의 주관적 행복감에 영향을 미치는 요인을 이들의 심신적 건강요인, 운동요인, 의존요인을 통해 탐색하였다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 2016년 질병관리본부가 수행한 제 12차 청소년 건강행태 온라인조사 자료 중 중 · 고등학생 65,528명의 응답치를 분석에 활용하였다. 본 연구는 첫째, 청소년의 주관적 행복감, 심신적 건강요인, 운동요인, 의존요인 관련 변수에 대한 빈도, 백분율, 평균, 표준편차 등의 기술통계치를 측정하였으며, 둘째, 각각의 독립변인에 대한 주관적 행복감의 차이를 t-test와 F-검증을 활용하여 분석하였으며, 셋째, 각 독립변수들이 청소년의 주관적 행복감에 미치는 영향을 다중회귀분석을 활용하여 분석하였다. 그 결과를 통합모형에 의해 정리하면, 심신적 건강요인에서는 주관적으로 건강하다고 느낄수록, 스트레스를 덜 느낄수록, 우울감을 덜 느낄수록, 운동요인에서는 격렬히 신체적으로 활동하면, 근력강화운동을 하면, 도보운동을 한 일수가 많을수록, 의존요인에서는 음주를 하지 않을수록, 흡연을 하지 않을수록, 약물을 사용한 경험이 없을수록, 더 높은 수준의 주관적 행복감을 느끼는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 청소년의 주관적 행복감 증진을 위한 제언과 함의를 전달하였다.

In order to design composites that mimic the remarkable balance of properties such as strength, toughness, and stiffness of staggered platelet structures in nature, it is crucial to understand their load transfer and failure mechanisms. Recently, we proposed an analytical model to predict the stress distribution within staggered platelet structures for a wide range of constituent materials’ moduli and geometric parameters in the elastic response regime. Here, based on the model, a fracture pattern diagram featuring three distinct mechanisms categorized according to the failure sequences of soft tip, soft shear zone, and hard platelet is constructed. The proposed fracture map is capable of capturing the transition of failure mechanisms observed in crack phase field simulations and draws parallels to mechanisms seen in experiments. Our study sheds light on the origin of failure mechanism transitions and enables rational designs of future staggered platelet composites with unprecedented properties.

Objective Endovascular treatment for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) has been regarded as second to none management nowadays as the result of its proven efficacy and need for less-invasive treatment. Most researchers have focused on the anatomical outcome after endovascular treatment, so in this study we estimated the real incidence of untoward effect and degree of patients' satisfaction based on s survey. Methods This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and 112 patients treated for saccular UIAs were evaluated among a total of 135 patients. After informed consent was obtained, these patients were sent a questionnaire regarding treatment effectiveness, complications, and patient satisfaction. These data were collected and compared with angiographic and clinical outcome. Results The response rate was 87.5% (98/112). Intracranial complications occurred in 10 aneurysms (10.2%): 7 ischemic and 3 hemorrhagic strokes. Other complications occurred in 30 patients (30.6%): 17 alopecia, 15 bleeding tendency, and 3 puncture-site complications. Overall, 89 (90.8%) patients reported being satisfied with their treatment. Patient satisfaction was closely correlated with clinically successful outcome of treatment. Conclusions Ninety percent of patients were satisfied with the results after endovascular treatment of UIAs. Endovascular coil embolization was effective and safe procedure, with high clinical success rate and degree of satisfaction.

This article analyzes Korea’s recognition of the names of Seokdo and Dokdo before and after the Korean Imperial Decree No. 41. Shimane Prefecture Office intended to insist the Japan’s dominion of Ulleungdo. In this context, this chaotic circumstance was fundamentally derived from the aim of Shimane Prefecture Office that attempted to register two Korean islands in the East Sea, Dokdo and Ulleungdo, into the Japanese territory under the jurisdiction of this prefecture. However, when it was confirmed the historical fact that Ulleungdo had been the territory under the jurisdiction of Korea; the Shimane Prefecture Office aimed to absorb Dokdo its jurisdiction. In order to achieve this goal, it induced the confused situation to the names of Dokdo and Ulleungdo on purpose around 1905. To conclude, in the meantime, both Korea and Japan have sought to maintain their own name for Ulleungdo and Dokdo. The reason for this is that they tried to provide Ulleungdo and Dokdo as the basis for claiming their ownership. However, there is a clear difference between Ulleungdo and Dokdo in Korea and Japan. Korea had a consistency of long naming regulations in the consciousness of its territory. However, Japan changed its name partly because of the consciousness that it should be defined as its own territory. It was because Japan’s political intent was hidden in the name of Dokdo.

Photonic resonances in nanostructures have been exploited in reflective or transmission color filters, which can provide vivid colors. Metallic nanostructures have been widely studied to demonstrate a variety of color filters based on strong light interaction due to plasmonic resonances. However, because of the severe absorption loss of metal in visible light, dielectric nanoparticles having Mie resonances are a popular study focus in recent years to achieve vivid colors. In contrast to the behaviors of point-like electric dipole in metallic nanoparticle, the interplay of the electric and magnetic Mie resonances in dielectric nanoparticle enables a large degree of freedom in manipulating the directivity of light scattering, reflecting/transmitting color, and spontaneous emission rates. Here, we propose a color reflector based on an array of silicon nanoparticles that shows reflectance greater than 70% and vivid colors over the entire visible spectrum range, which covers sRGB color area. Viewing angle dependencies of the color and brightness are also investigated by calculating color-resolved far-field patterns, while exhibiting maintenance of the color and high reflectance over a broad viewing angle.

Dementia is used as a general term to describe chronic disorders of mental processes caused by the deterioration of cognitive functions to the extent that one's ability to perform daily activities is impaired. Currently, age is known to be the main risk factor for dementia, suggesting that the risk of being diagnosed with dementia significantly increases later in one's life. Therefore, there are two approaches one can take when confronting dementia: to cure it when it occurs in late adulthood or to prevent the onset of symptoms beforehand. Recently, the latter strategy of delaying and preventing Alzheimer's disease, the most prevalent form and most studied type of dementia, through both pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical interventions is becoming increasingly recognized. In this review, we discuss studies conducted in various fields that addresses nonpharmaceutical lifestyle interventions, including diet, physical activity, cognitive stimulation, and social engagement, and their effects in preventing and inhibiting dementia.

Composites are ubiquitous throughout nature and often display both high strength and toughness, despite the use of simple base constituents. In the hopes of recreating the high-performance of natural composites, numerical methods such as finite element method (FEM) are often used to calculate the mechanical properties of composites. However, the vast design space of composites and computational cost of numerical methods limit the application of high-throughput computing for optimizing composite design, especially when considering the entire failure path. In this work, the authors leverage deep learning (DL) to predict material properties (stiffness, strength, and toughness) calculated by FEM, motivated by DL’s significantly faster inference speed. Results of this study demonstrate potential for DL to accelerate composite design optimization.