Scutellinia (Pezizales) In Korea, With A New Species and Eight New Records

Eleven species of the genus Scutellinia (Pyronemataceae, Pezizales) are recognized in Korea by analysis of macro- and micro-morphological characteristics, substrates and geographical distributions. Eight species are recorded new to Korea, namely, S. ahmadiopsis, S. badio-berbis, S. colensoi, S. jilinensis, S. nigrohirtula, S. olivascens, S. setosa and S. patagonica. Based on the exceptional length of marginal hairs and tuberculate ascospore wall ornamentation, two Korean specimens occurring on wood are described as a new species. Infraspecific morphological variations among collections within S. scutellata and S. patagonica were found. These are tentative treat as species complexes. The highly questionable occurrence of S. setosa in Asia was confirmed. Descriptions and taxonomic notes of the recognized species of Scutellinia are provided with a taxonomic key, illustrations and photographs of these species from Korea.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae from Ny-Ålesund and Blomstrandhalvøya Island (Svalbard)

A field survey of algae and cyanobacteria from terrestrial and freshwater habitats in the vicinity of Ny-Ålesund and on Blomstrandhalvøya Island (Svalbard) was performed in June 2009, and results were compared with data from our fieldwork in June 2006. In total, we identified 30 taxa belonging to 23 genera from the specimens collected near Ny-Ålesund (26 taxa) and on Blomstrandhalvøya Island (24 taxa). Five species previously unrecorded from this locality are depicted, including astaxanthin-containing Haematococcus sp. collected from Blomstrandhalvøya Island. This is the first report on a Haematococcus species from the High Arctic.Une étude sur le terrain portant sur les algues et les cyanobactéries d’habitats terrestres et dulçaquicoles dans les environs de Ny-Ålesund et de l’île Blomstrandhalvøya (Svalbard) a été réalisée en juin 2009, et les résultats ont été comparés aux données de notre travail sur le terrain effectué en juin 2006. En tout, nous avons identifié 30 taxons appartenant à 23 genres à partir de spécimens prélevés près de Ny-Ålesund (26 taxons) et de Blomstrandhalvøya (24 taxons). Cinq espèces qui n’avaient jamais été répertoriées dans cette localité sont illustrées, dont l’Haematococcus sp. contenant de l’astaxanthine recueillie à l’île Blomstrandhalvøya. Il s’agit de la première fois que l’espèce Haematococcus a été signalée dans l’Extrême-Arctique

A search for exoplanets around north circumpolar stars. VII. Detection of planetary companion orbiting the largest host star HD 18438

We have been conducting a exoplanet search survey using Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) for the last 18 years. We present the detection of exoplanet candidate in orbit around HD 18438 from high-precision radial velocity (RV) mesurements. The target was already reported in 2018 (Bang et al. 2018). They conclude that the RV variations with a period of 719 days are likely to be caused by the pulsations because the Lomb-Scargle periodogram of HIPPARCOS photometric and Ha EW variations for HD 18438 show peaks with periods close to that of RV variations and there were no correlations between bisectors and RV measurements. However, the data were not sufficient to reach a firm conclusion. We obtained more RV data for four years. The longer time baseline yields a more accurate determination with a revised period of 803 +/- 5 days and the planetary origin of RV variations with a minimum planetary companion mass of 21 +/- 1 MJup. Our current estimate of the stellar parameters for HD 18438 makes it currently the largest star with a planetary companion.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accept to the Journal of the Korean Astronomical Societ

The Properties of Type Ia Supernova Host Galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the properties and environments of Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) host galaxies in the Stripe 82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey centered on the celestial equator. Host galaxies are defined as the galaxy nearest to the supernova (SN) in terms of angular distance whose velocity difference from the SN is less than 1000 km s^{-1}. Eighty seven SN Ia host galaxies are selected from the SDSS Main galaxy sample with the apparent r-band magnitude m_r < 17.77, and compared with the SDSS Main galaxies. The SN Ia rates for early and late-type galaxies are 0.81 +- 0.19 SN (100yr)^{-1} and 0.99 +- 0.21 SN (100yr)^{-1}, respectively. We find that the host galaxies have a color distribution consistent with that of the Main galaxies, regardless of their morphology. However, host galaxies are on average brighter than the Main galaxies by ~ 0.3 mag over the range of -18.3 > M_r > -21.3. But the brighter ends of their luminosity distributions are similar. The distribution of the distance to the nearest neighbor galaxy shows that SNe Ia are more likely to occur in isolated galaxies without close neighbors. We also find that the SN Ia host galaxies are preferentially located in a region close to massive galaxy clusters compared to the Main galaxies.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication on Ap

Chrysymenia wrightii (Rhodymeniales, Rhodophyta) - a new non-native species for the European Atlantic Coast

Chrysymenia wrightii, originally described from Japan, was found for the first time from the European Atlantic coast. It was collected in several subtidal rocky bottom habitats (9-14 meters depth) of the Ría de Arousa (Galicia, NW Spain). In this work, a description of Galician gametophytic and tetrasporophytic plants is provided. They are similar to the Mediterranean and Japanese plants. DNA sequence data of materials from Galicia and Korea were investigated using nuclear SSU and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA and plastid rbcL sequences. No genetic variation was observed in the SSU, and only one substitution was detected in ITS and rbcL data between Galician and Korean samples, respectively. Our molecular data indicate that the Galician populations of C. wrightii are probably due to a recent introduction event from the northwest Pacific. Despite the fact that C. wrightii was formerly recorded as a new non-native species from a Mediterranean hotspot (Thau Lagoon, 1987-1989), it was never reported for the European Atlantic coast. After 30 years of its first report in the Mediterranean Sea, the simultaneous occurrence of C. wrightii in four subtidal localities of NW Spain suggests that this species may have colonized the region unnoticed for several years which may be related to its subtidal habitat and short life cycle. Similarly to the Mediterranean Sea, the introduction of C. wrightii on the European Atlantic coasts could be enhanced by the intensive aquaculture widely spread along the Galician coast. Curiously, C. wrightii is apparently restricted to both areas, the Ría de Arousa and the Thau Lagoon. In addition, many non-native species markedly represented in Galicia since the 1980’s were firstly reported in the Ría de Arousa. Consequently, the Ría de Arousa should be considered an outstanding European Atlantic hotspot of introduced marine species similar to the Solent region (South of England) or the Thau Lagoon.Xunta de Galicia (PGIDIT03PXIB10301PR) Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, FEDER (CGL2006-03576/BOS) Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (R01-2006-000-10312-0) Basic Research Program of the Korea Polar Research Institute (PE08060)S

Characteristics of Body Fat, Body Fat Percentage and Other Body Composition for Koreans from KNHANES IV

Accurate measurement of fat mass has become increasingly important with the increasing incidence of obesity. We assessed fat and muscle mass of Koreans with the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV (KNHANES IV). We studied 10,456 subjects (aged 20 to 85 yr; 4,476 men, 5,980 women). Fat and muscle mass were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Reference values of body compositions were obtained using the LMS method. The fat mass index (FMI, body fat mass/height2; kg/m2) of Korean men did not correlate with age (P = 0.452), but those of Korean women (P < 0.001) did. The ratio of percentage of fat in the trunk and legs was positively related with age in both the genders. The appendicular lean mass/height2 (kg/m2) of Korean men was negatively related to age (P < 0.001). In women, this ratio increased with age (P < 0.001). When we defined obesity according to the FMI classification, the rates of obesity were 6.1% (FMI > 9 kg/m2) in men and 2.7% (FMI > 13 kg/m2) in women. It is concluded that the muscle mass decreases and obesity increases with aging in Korean men, whereas both fat mass and obesity increase with aging in Korean women

Effect of proton irradiation on the fluctuation-induced magnetoconductivity of FeSe1−xTex thin films

The influence of proton irradiation on the fluctuation-induced magnetoconductivity of high quality FeSe1−xTex (x=0.4, 0.55) (FST) thin films has been investigated. The measurements were performed with magnetic fields up to 13 T applied in the two main crystal directions. The results were interpreted in terms of the Ginzburg–Landau approach for three-dimensional materials under a total-energy cutoff. The analysis shows that properly-tuned proton irradiation does not appreciably affect fundamental superconducting parameters like the Tc value, the upper critical fields or the anisotropy. This has important consequences from the point of view of possible applications due to the enhancement of vortex pinning induced by irradiation.YSK was supported by the NRF grant funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (No. NRF-2015M2B2A9028507 and NRF-2016R1A2B4012672). TP was supported by the NRF grant funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea (No. 2012R1A3A2048816). JM acknowledges support by project FIS2016-79109-P (AEI/FEDER, UE) and by the Xunta de Galicia (project AGRUP 2015/11). SL was supported by the Global Research Network program through the NRF funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT & Future Planning (NRF-2014S1A2A2028361)S