Report on the Observation of a Dark morph Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Daejeon Metropolitan City

AbstractOn March 16th, 2010, at 13:35, a single count of dark morph tree sparrow (Passer montanus) was observed for approximately 15 minutes while it was resting with approximately 30 ordinary tree sparrows at a terrace land on water (east longitude 127°21′31.4”, north latitude 36°18′20.2”) under Gasuwon Bridge (Gasuwongyo) of Gasuwon-dong, Seo-gu in Daejeon Metropolitan City. Dark morph tree sparrow has not been observed in nature for 16 years since its observation in Pyeongtaek-gun of Gyeonggi-do by the Korean Avian Association in 1994

Benthic invertebrate fauna in the islets of Namuseom and Bukhyeongjeseom off Busan

AbstractThis study was conducted to examine the benthic invertebrate fauna inhabiting in the subtidal zone in and around the islets of Namuseom and Bukhyeongjeseom off the coast of Busan by SCUBA diving in September 2013. As a consequence, it was confirmed that a total of 6 phyla, 14 classes, 20 orders, 46 families, and 73 species of zoobenthos inhabit in and around those islets. The total number of species surveyed by taxon during the study is 22 species of Arthropoda (30%), 20 species of Mollusca (27%), 15 species of Cnidaria (21%), 10 species of Echinodermata (14%), four species of Poridera (5%), and two species of Chordata

A DNA barcode library of the beetle reference collection (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the National Science Museum, Korea

AbstractColeoptera is a group of insects that are most diverse among insect resources. Although used as indicator species and applied in developing new drugs, it is difficult to identify them quickly. Since the development of a method using mitochondrial DNA information for identification, studies have been conducted in Korea to swiftly and accurately identify species. The National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) has been collecting and morphologically identifying domestic reference insects since 2013, and building a database of DNA barcodes with digital images. The NSMK completed construction of a database of digital images and DNA barcodes of 60 beetle species in the Korean National Research Information System. A total of 179 specimens and 60 species were used for the analysis, and the averages of intraspecific and interspecific variations were 0.70±0.45% and 26.34±6.01%, respectively, with variation rates ranging from 0% to 1.45% and 9.83% to 56.23%, respectively

A study on the biodiversity of benthic invertebrates in the waters of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, Korea

The biodiversity of benthic invertebrates in the intertidal and subtidal regions of Gapado, Beomseom, and Munseom islets was surveyed twice in May and September 2013 to study the state of biodiversity in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. As a result, a total of 77 species, 46 families, 25 orders, 14 classes, and nine phyla of benthic invertebrates were found. The species which were found, by taxon, consisted of the following: 26 species of Cnidaria (34%), 24 species of Mollusca (31%), seven species of Chordata (9%), six species of Arthropoda (8%), six species of Porifera (8%), five species of Echinodermata (7%), one species of Bryozoa (1%), one species of Annelida (1%), and one species of Ctenophora (1%)

Probiotic Lactobacillus sakei proBio-65 Extract Ameliorates the Severity of Imiquimod Induced Psoriasis-Like Skin Inflammation in a Mouse Model

This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of ethanol extract (SEL001) isolated from a potent probiotic strain Lactobacillus sakei proBio-65 on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation in a mouse model. Histopathological and histomorphometrical changes in the ear and dorsal skin tissues were observed under hematoxylin and eosin stain for general histopathological architectures or Masson’s trichrome stain for collagen fibers. The expression profile of psoriasis-associated specific genes was determined using Real-Time PCR analysis. As a result, topical application of IMQ resulted in a significant increase of mean total and epithelial (epidermis) thicknesses, the number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the dermis, and the decrease of dermis collagen fiber occupied regions in the ear tissues of IMQ and IMQ plus vaseline treated groups when compared to the intact control group. A significant increase of epithelial thickness and number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the dermis of dorsal skin tissues were also noticed in IMQ and IMQ plus vaseline treated groups as compared to the intact control group, suggesting classic IMQ-induced hypersensitive psoriasis. IMQ-induced hypersensitive psoriasis related histopathological changes to the ear and dorsal skin tissues were significantly inhibited by the treatment of a standard drug clobetasol and SEL001. Further, mRNA expression analysis indicated a significant increase in gene expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-19, IL-17A, and IL-23 in IMQ and IMQ plus vaseline treated groups than that of the control. Clobetasol and SEL001 treated groups resulted in a lower gene expression level of IL-19, IL-17A, and IL-23 as compared to IMQ and IMQ plus vaseline treated groups. These results enforce that SEL001 could be a novel treatment for psoriasis and an alternative to other drugs that pose a number of side effects on the skin

DNA Barcoding Korean Birds

DNA barcoding, an inventory of DNA sequences from a standardized genomic region, provides a bio-barcode for identifying and discovering species. Several recent studies suggest that the sequence diversity in a 648 bp region of the mitochondrial gene for cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) might serve as a DNA barcode for identifying animal species such as North American birds, insects and fishes. The present study tested the effectiveness of a COI barcode in discriminating Korean bird species. We determined the 5′ terminus of the COI barcode for 92 species of Korean birds and found that species identification was unambiguous; the genetic differences between closely related species were, on average, 25 times higher than the differences within species. We identified only one misidentified species out of 239 specimens in a genetic resource bank, so confirming the accuracy of species identification in the banking system. We also identified two potential composite species, calling for further investigation using more samples. The finding of large COI sequence differences between species confirms the effectiveness of COI barcodes for identifying Korean bird species. To bring greater reliability to the identification of species, increased intra- and interspecies sampling, as well as supplementation of the mitochondrial barcodes with nuclear ones, is needed.This study was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea government (MOST) (No. M10508040002-06N0804- 00210), the Brain Korea 21 Program for Veterinary Science funded by the Ministry of Education, and the Korea National Research Resource Collection Program funded by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation. We express our appreciation to Mr. Tae Wook Kang for assistance with data analysis and special thanks to Tae Young Choi, Dong Gi Choi, and Chun Gweon Choi for donating road-killed samples collected for the Eco-technopia 21 Project, the Korean Governments R&D Program on environmental technology develop- ment. The authors also thank the Korean Association for Bird Protection in Cheorwon, Korea and the Wildlife Rescue Center in Suncheon for samples

Stretchable electronic devices using graphene and its hybrid nanostructures

Research of flexible and stretchable electronic devices has shown remarkable development due to the remarkable characteristics of graphene. To exploit these characteristics, many devices have been developed using graphene-based hybrid materials or structures. In this paper, we present the electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene and then provide information concerning the various electronic devices fabricated using graphene and its hybrid materials or structures, with special emphasis on stretchable devices