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Despite the various medications used in clinics, the efforts to develop more effective treatments for depression continue to increase in the past decades mainly because of the treatment-resistant population, and the testing of several hypotheses- and target-based treatments. Undesirable side effects and unresponsiveness to current medications fuel the drive to solve this top global health problem. In this study, we focused on neuroinflammatory response-mediated depression which represents a cluster of depression etiology both in animal models and humans. Several meta-analyses reported that proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were increased in major depressive disorder patients. Inflammatory mediators implicated in depression include type-I interferon and inflammasome pathways. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammatory cascades underlying the pathophysiology of depression, we introduced hycanthone, an antischistosomal drug, to check whether it can counteract depressive-like behaviors

Tropical Cyclone (hereafter, TC), a most destructive weather phenomenon that causes enormous socio-economic damage, occurs around 25 times every year in the western North Pacific, of which Korea is directly or indirectly affected by about 3 to 4 TCs every year. Even if it is affected by a small number of TCs, the damage could be unimaginably large. To preemptively prepare and respond to TCs, predictability on the sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) time-scale, over two weeks to two months is being emphasized. In this study, the characteristics of TCs in sub-seasonal forecasting with the Global Seasonal Forecast System 5 (GloSea5) of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) were assessed over the western North Pacific (WNP). The predictability of GloSea5 was examined for its ability to reproduce observed TC climatology as well as changes in TC genesis with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and a 1998/1999 climate regime shift. GloSea5 showed skilful performance in simulating the frequency and genesis spatial distribution of TCs in climatology and both extreme ENSO phases. Synoptic fields related to TC genesis were also reasonably captured, despite some systematic biases in those. GloSea5 performed well in terms of characteristics of changes in TC genesis due to the climate regime shift. However, there were biases in TC frequency before the regime shift and in changes in TC-related environmental fields. This study implies that GloSea5, which has a good predictive skill for TC genesis over the WNP, can be used as an operational model for sub-seasonal TC forecasting, although it requires continuous improvements to reduce systematic errors

This study investigated the prediction skill of the Asian dust seasonal forecasting model (GloSea5-ADAM) on the Asian dust and meteorological variables related to the dust generation using hindcasts of GloSea5-ADAM for the period of 1991~2016 for East Asia. GloSea5-ADAM incorporates the dust generation algorithm of the Asian Dust and Aerosol Model (ADAM) into the Global Seasonal Forecasting System version 5 (GloSea5). The Asian dust and meteorological variables (10 m wind speed, 1.5 m relative humidity, and 1.5 m air temperature) depending on the combination of the initial dates in the sub-seasonal scale were compared to that from synoptic observation and ERA5 reanalysis data. The evaluation criteria used Mean Bias Error (MBE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Anomaly Correlation Coefficient (ACC). The Asian dust and meteorological variables in the source region (35~44°N, 90~115°E) showed high ACC in the prediction scale within one month. The best performances for all variables showed when the use of the initial dates closest to the prediction month based on MBE, RMSE, and ACC. ACC was as high as 0.4 in Spring when using the closest two initial dates. In particular, the GloSea5-ADAM shows the best performance of Asian dust generation with an ACC of 0.60 in the occurrence frequency of Asian dust in March when using the closest initial dates for initial conditions. This result showed that the performances could be improved by adjusting the number of ensembles considering the combination of the initial date.

The world is facing rapid climate change and a fast-growing global population. It is believed that the world population will be 9.7 billion in 2050. However, recent agriculture production is not enough to feed the current population of 7.9 billion people, which is causing a huge hunger problem. Therefore, feeding the 9.7 billion population in 2050 will be a huge target. Climate change is becoming a huge threat to global agricultural production, and it is expected to become the worst threat to it in the upcoming years. Keeping this in view, it is very important to breed climate-resilient plants. Legumes are considered an important pillar of the agriculture production system and a great source of high-quality protein, minerals, and vitamins. During the last two decades, advancements in OMICs technology revolutionized plant breeding and emerged as a crop-saving tool in wake of the climate change. Various OMICs approaches like Next-Generation sequencing (NGS), Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics have been used in legumes under abiotic stresses. The scientific community successfully utilized these platforms and investigated the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), linked markers through genome-wide association studies, and developed KASP markers that can be helpful for the marker-assisted breeding of legumes. Gene-editing techniques have been successfully proven for soybean, cowpea, chickpea, and model legumes such as Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus. A number of efforts have been made to perform gene editing in legumes. Moreover, the scientific community did a great job of identifying various genes involved in the metabolic pathways and utilizing the resulted information in the development of climate-resilient legume cultivars at a rapid pace. Keeping in view, this review highlights the contribution of OMICs approaches to abiotic stresses in legumes. We envisage that the presented information will be helpful for the scientific community to develop climate-resilient legume cultivars.

The National Institute of Meteorological Sciences-Korea Meteorological Administration (NIMS-KMA) has participated in the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP) and provided long-term simulations using the coupled climate model. The NIMS-KMA produces new future projections using the ensemble mean of KMA Advanced Community Earth system model (K-ACE) and UK Earth System Model version1 (UKESM1) simulations to provide scientific information of future climate changes. In this study, we analyze four experiments those conducted following the new shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) based scenarios to examine projected climate change in the twenty-first century. Present day (PD) simulations show high performance skill in both climate mean and variability, which provide a reliability of the climate models and reduces the uncertainty in response to future forcing. In future projections, global temperature increases from 1.92 °C to 5.20 °C relative to the PD level (1995–2014). Global mean precipitation increases from 5.1% to 10.1% and sea ice extent decreases from 19% to 62% in the Arctic and from 18% to 54% in the Antarctic. In addition, climate changes are accelerating toward the late twenty-first century. Our CMIP6 simulations are released to the public through the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) international data sharing portal and are used to support the establishment of the national adaptation plan for climate change in South Korea.

The National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (NIMS) of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) is participating in CMIP6 to produce climate change projections for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Based on the KMA Advanced Community Earth-system model (K-ACE) and UK Earth System Model (UKESM1) in collaboration with the MetOffice, UK, we will take part in ScenarioMIP and AerChemMIP to model long-term climate simulations under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways for IPCC AR6. The experiment output dataset will be enormous, with management and world-wide dissemination critical to meeting global goals. In order to support data access, a node in the Earth System Grid Federation has been developed. We applied the postprocessing method to publish CMIP6 data to the ESGF; this postprocessing method includes the international standard data conversion (CMORization) and quality assurance (QA) processes. These CMORization and QA processes are mandatory for publishing data to ESGF and increase the reliability of the data. We expect that shortening the time needed from model simulation to delivering data through the ESGF node will improve climate change science outcomes and will facilitate the CMIP activities of various users.

Drynaria bonii H. Christ is a medicinal plant that has traditionally been used for the treatment of chronic diseases and tuberculosis. However, D. bonii has not yet been cultivated or propagated. In this study, we optimized the conditions for the spore culture of D. bonii to produce sporophytes. First, we evaluated the effects of various factors, such as temperature, light intensity, potting material, and pH, on spore germination and early gametophyte development. Under optimal culture conditions, 95–99% of the spores germinated within 2 weeks of culture. Next, based on these results, we established a culture system for gametophyte development and sporophyte production. Mature gametophytes first appeared 5 months post-germination (mpg), and at 12 mpg, the rate of production of heart-shaped gametophytes reached 56.6%. Sporophytes at the early first-leaf stage first appeared at 6 mpg, and at 12 mpg, the rate of formation of sporophytes reached 15.4%. Interestingly, 6.3% of all gametophytes produced multiple sporophytes. Additionally, 42–62% of the gametophytes also produced multiple secondary gametophytes, indicating a high potential of D. bonii gametophytes to generate new gametophytes and, subsequently, sporophytes. When transferred to new trays or pots, sporophytes grew well and showed 100% survival. Overall, we conclude that this spore culture system can be successfully used for the propagation of D. bonii sporophytes.

We analyze annual extremes of daily maximum and minimum surface air temperature and of daily rainfall in East Asia and the Korean peninsula. This study made intensive use of the simulation data available from the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) multimodels in historical and future experiments up to the year 2100, employing three different radiative forcings: RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 (representative concentration pathways). Several reanalysis datasets are used to compare and evaluate the simulated climate extremes in the late twentieth century. We estimate the future changes in precipitation and temperature extremes in East Asia and Korea, and compare them to the global result, for the reference period 1986–2005. The rising rate of future cold extremes over East Asia and Korea is faster than that of warm extremes. This phenomenon appears more distinctly in Korea as a local scale, indicating more sensitivity of the Korean peninsula to global warming. The increase of the 20-year return level of maximum precipitation in the CMIP5 over East Asia by the end of twenty-first century is about 7% in the RCP2.6, 15% in the RCP4.5, and 35% in the RCP8.5 experiments, which exceed the corresponding global values. We also estimate the changes in precipitation extremes across East Asia as a function of the annual mean temperature variation at the same location. The CMIP5 sensitivity in maximum precipitation across East Asia is 5.5%/∘C, which is lower than the global figure (5.8%/∘C). The sensitivity for the Korean peninsula is 7.38%/∘C, indicating the strong impact of global warming to Korea. The results will be important in mitigating the detrimental effects of variations of climatic extremes and in improving the regional strategy for water resource and eco-environmental management, particularly for such areas in East Asia under significant changes in temperature and rainfall extremes.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are complex conditions that pose difficulty in the modulation of proper motor, sensory and cognitive function due to dysregulated neuronal development. Previous studies have reported that an imbalance in the excitation/ inhibition (E/I) in the brain regulated by glutamatergic and/or GABAergic neurotransmission can cause neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric behavioral deficits such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). NMDA acts as an agonist at the NMDA receptor and imitates the action of the glutamate on that receptor. NMDA however, unlike glutamate, only binds to and regulates the NMDA receptor subtypes and not the other glutamate receptors. This study seeks to determine whether NMDA administration in mice i.e., over-activation of the NMDA system would result in long-lasting behavioral deficits in the adolescent mice. Both gender mice were treated with NMDA or saline at early postnatal developmental period with significant synaptogenesis and synaptic maturation. On postnatal day 28, various behavioral experiments were conducted to assess and identify behavioral characteristics. NMDA-treated mice show social deficits, and repetitive behavior in both gender mice at adolescent periods. However, only the male mice but not female mice showed increased locomotor activity. This study implies that neonatal exposure to NMDA may illicit behavioral features similar to ASD. This study also confirms the validity of the E/I imbalance theory of ASD and that NMDA injection can be used as a pharmacologic model for ASD. Future studies may explore the mechanism behind the gender difference in locomotor activity as well as the human relevance and therapeutic significance of the present findings.

Significance HYPONASTIC LEAVES 1 (HYL1)-CLEAVAGE SUBTILASE 1 (HCS1) is a novel negative regulator of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis that degrades HYL1 in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, cytoplasm CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) E3 ligase inhibit HCS1-mediated HYL1 degradation. The COP1-HYL1-HCS1 network may integrate two essential cellular pathways: the miRNA-biogenetic pathway and light signaling pathway. Our finding suggests a regulatory pathway in the miRNA-biogenetic system.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) having core characteristics of social interaction problems and repetitive behaviors and interests affects individuals at varying degrees and comorbidities, making it difficult to determine the precise etiology underlying the symptoms. Given its heterogeneity, ASD is difficult to treat and the development of therapeutics is slow due to the scarcity of animal models that are easy to produce and screen with. Based on the theory of excitation/inhibition imbalance in the brain with ASD which involves glutamatergic and/or GABAergic neurotransmission, a pharmacologic agent to modulate these receptors might be a good starting point for modeling. N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) is an amino acid derivative acting as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor and therefore imitates the action of the neurotransmitter glutamate on that receptor. In contrast to glutamate, NMDA selectively binds to and regulates the NMDA receptor, but not other glutamate receptors such as AMPA and kainite receptors. Given this role, we aimed to determine whether NMDA administration could result in autistic-like behavior in adolescent mice. Both male and female mice were treated with saline or NMDA (50 and 75 mg/kg) and were tested on various behavior experiments. Interestingly, acute NMDA-treated mice showed social deficits and repetitive behavior similar to ASD phenotypes. These results support the excitation/inhibition imbalance theory of ASD and that NMDA injection can be used as a pharmacologic model of ASD-like behaviors.

Arthropod-borne infectious diseases cause many deaths and a major economic burden worldwide. Repellents play an important role in protecting people from infectious biting arthropods. The repellency of veratraldehyde, a known food additive, and the WJ-1041 formulation containing 10% veratraldehyde was tested against Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens pallens females and Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs using arm-in-cage, indoor or filter paper tests. Veratraldehyde exhibited repellency similar to or lower than that of n,n-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) against A. albopictus, but in H. longicornis, the activity of veratraldehyde was better than that of DEET. The repellency of the 10% veratraldehyde solution was comparable to that of 20% DEET against the two mosquitoes. When comparing repellency between the WJ-1041 formulation (10% veratraldehyde) and 10% DEET against C. pipiens pallens, A. Albopictus and H. longicornis, the two showed similar repellency and complete protection time (CPT) values. However, there was a small difference depending on the tested insects. The absorption of veratraldehyde via skin was minimal, if at all. The pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax and Tmax) of veratraldehyde in blood samples of rats were not different from those of the control group. Based on these results, veratraldehyde has high potential to be commercialized as a repellent agent against infectious disease-borne pests in the near future.

The steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is the species most at risk from selenium (Se) exposure in the San Francisco Bay Delta (SFBD). However, although steelhead trout are usually exposed to environmental Se in the juvenile stage, data to test their sensitivity to excess Se, especially its organic form, in the juvenile stage are scarce. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to assess the sensitivity of juvenile steelhead trout to ecologically relevant forms of Se using integrated sensitive endpoints. Fish (mean weight: 22.3 g) were fed one of five diets containing 1.1 (control), 8.8, 15.4, 30.8, and 61.6 μg Se/g diet dw (Se1.1, Se8.8, Se15.4, Se30.8, and Se61.6, respectively) in the form of selenomethionine for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, Se significantly accumulated in a dose-dependent manner in all tissues at different rates. The growth rate and plasma cholesterol were significantly depressed in fish fed diets containing Se30.8 and above. Hematological parameters and mortality were significantly elevated in fish fed the Se61.6 diet. Marked histopathological alterations were observed in fish fed the Se8.8 diet (the lowest observed effect concentration, LOEC) and above. The current results suggest that the steelhead trout is more sensitive to excess Se than nonanadromous rainbow trout used in previous studies because of its lower LOEC despite the use of selenomethionine and the shorter experimental duration. Additionally, it should be noted that the current Se levels found in the SFBD are already a threat to the threatened population of steelhead trout on the central California coast.

In recent decades, extremely cold winters have occurred repeatedly throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including the Korean Peninsula (hereafter, Korea). Typically, cold winter temperatures in Korea can be linked to the strengthening of the Siberian High (SH). Although previous studies have investigated the typical relationship between the SH and winter temperatures in Korea, this study uniquely focused on a change in the relationship, which reflects the influence of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A significant change in the 15-year moving correlation between the SH and the surface air temperature average in Korea (K-tas) was observed in January. The correlation changed from −0.80 during 1971–1990 to −0.16 during 1991–2010. The mean sea-level pressure pattern regressed with the temperature, and a singular value decomposition analysis that incorporated the temperature and pressure supports that the negative high correlation during 1971–1990 was largely affected by AO. This connection with AO is substantiated by empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis with an upper-level geopotential height at 300 hPa. In the second mode of the EOF, the temperature and pressure patterns were primarily affected by ENSO during 1991–2010. Consequently, the interdecadal change in correlation between K-tas and the SH in January can be attributed to the dominant effect of AO from 1971–1990 and of ENSO from 1991–2010. Our results suggest that the relative importance of these factors in terms of the January climate in Korea has changed on a multidecadal scale.

We investigated the effects of cooking (steaming and microwaving) and processing (freeze-drying and hot-air-drying) methods on the antioxidant activity of broccoli florets. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•), and alkyl• free radical scavenging assays were employed to assess anti-oxidant potentials. The cytoprotective effect against oxidative damage induced by H2O2 was studied using hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. Anti-proliferative effects were assessed in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. L-sulforaphane in broccoli extracts was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Steam and microwave treatments caused increases in total polyphenol content (TPC), whereas the total flavonoid content (TFC) decreased following steam treatment. A slight increase in TFC was observed in the microwaved samples. Extracts of all broccoli samples showed almost identical radical scavenging and cytoprotective effects. HPLC demonstrated that steamed (3 min)-freeze-dried (F-S3) and microwaved (2 min)-freeze-dried (F-M2) samples exhibited elevated levels of L-sulforaphane. In addition, the F-S3 and F-M2 extracts displayed strong anti-proliferative effects in MCF-7 cells, which correlated with L-sulforaphane content. As we observed no significant decrease in the antioxidant activity of broccoli florets, the cooking and processing methods and conditions studied here are recommended for broccoli.

Understanding the response of the Earth system to CO2 removal (CDR) is crucial because the possibility of irreversibility exists. Therefore, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Inter-comparison Project (CDRMIP) for the protocol experiment in the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) has been developed. Our analysis focuses on the regional response in the hydrological cycle, especially in East Asia (EA). The peak temperature changes in EA (5.9 K) and the Korean peninsula (KO) (6.1 K) are larger than the global mean surface air temperature (GSAT) response. The precipitation changes are approximately 9.4% (EA) and 23.2% (KO) at the phase change time (130&ndash, 150 years), however, the largest increase is approximately 16.6% (EA) and 36.5% (KO) in the ramp-down period (150&ndash, 160 years). In addition, the differences are below 5 mm/day and 1 day for the precipitation intensity indices (Rx1day and Rx5day) and frequency indices (R95 and R99), respectively. Furthermore, the monsoon rainband of the ramp-down period moves northward as the earlier onset with high confidence compared to the ramp-up period, however, it does not move north to the KO region. The results suggest that reducing CO2 moves the rainband southward. However, a detailed interpretation in terms of the mechanism needs to be carried out in further research.

Estimating future sea level rise (SLR) and sea surface temperature (SST) is essential to implement mitigation and adaptation options within a sustainable development framework. This study estimates regional SLR and SST changes around the Korean peninsula. Two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5) scenarios and nine Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) model simulations are used to estimate the changes in SLR and SST. At the end of the 21st century, global SLR is expected to be 0.28 m (0.17&ndash, 0.38 m) and 0.65 m (0.52&ndash, 0.78 m) for SSP 1&ndash, 2.6 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. Regional change around the Korean peninsula (0.25 m (0.15&ndash, 0.35 m, SSP1-2.6) and 0.63 m (0.50&ndash, 0.76 m, SSP5-8.5)) is similar with global SLR. The discrepancy between global and regional changes is distinct in SST warming rather than SLR. For SSP5-8.5, SST around the Korean peninsula projects is to rise from 0.49 &deg, C to 0.59 &deg, C per decade, which is larger than the global SST trend (0.39 &deg, C per decade). Considering this, the difference of regional SST change is related to the local ocean current change, such as the Kuroshio Current. Additionally, ocean thermal expansion and glacier melting are major contributors to SLR, and the contribution rates of glacier melting increase in higher emission scenarios.

It is important to evaluate leaching behavior in agricultural soils to prevent the pollution of groundwater by pesticides. We identified the distribution coefficients (Kd) of ten pesticides with different physicochemical properties and compared their leaching characteristics using wick lysimeters from three distinct soil types on Jeju Island. The Kdvalues varied by pesticide and soil, but were within the range of 1.2 to 4231 L kg−1. Based on the European standard (Kd −1), six pesticides (alachlor, ethoprophos, carbofuran, napropamide, tebuconazole, and etridiazole) were mobile in at least one tested soil, and their soil organic carbon affinity was ≤ 5.811. This value differed greatly from the other pesticides (16.533 and higher). The solubility of the six mobile pesticides was ≥ 32 mg L−1, which substantially differed from the other pesticides (≤ 0.71 mg L−1). Thus, we conclude that our mobility assessment, which is based on Kdvalues, can be used to predict the leaching of pesticides in the volcanic ash soils of Jeju Island. The use of pesticides should be strictly controlled to reduce the possibility of groundwater contamination.

As one of the main drivers for climate change, it is important to understand changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions and evaluate the climate impact. Anthropogenic aerosols have affected global climate while exerting a much larger influence on regional climate by their short lifetime and heterogeneous spatial distribution. In this study, the effective radiative forcing (ERF), which has been accepted as a useful index for quantifying the effect of climate forcing, was evaluated to understand the effects of aerosol on regional climate over a historical period (1850&ndash, 2014). Eastern United States (EUS), Western European Union (WEU), and Eastern Central China (ECC), are regions that predominantly emit anthropogenic aerosols and were analyzed using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) simulations implemented within the framework of the Aerosol Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP) in the UK&rsquo, s Earth System Model (UKESM1). In EUS and WEU, where industrialization occurred relatively earlier, the negative ERF seems to have been recovering in recent decades based on the decreasing trend of aerosol emissions. Conversely, the radiative cooling in ECC seems to be strengthened as aerosol emission continuously increases. These aerosol ERFs have been largely attributed to atmospheric rapid adjustments, driven mainly by aerosol-cloud interactions rather than direct effects of aerosol such as scattering and absorption.