The risk factors of environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 are largely unknown. We analyzed 1,320 environmental samples obtained from COVID-19 patients over 1 year. The risk factors for contamination of COVID-19 patients’ surrounding environment were higher viral load in the respiratory tract and shorter duration from symptom onset to sample collection.

Oxidative stress causes several diseases and dysfunctions in cells, including oocytes. Clearly, oxidative stress influences oocyte quality during in vitro maturation and fertilization. Here we tested the ability of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and improve mouse oocyte quality during in vitro culture. Treatment with 50 μM CoQ10 efficiently reduced ROS levels in oocytes cultured in vitro. The fertilizable form of an oocyte usually contains a cortical granule-free domain (CGFD). CoQ10 enhanced the ratio of CGFD–oocytes from 35% to 45%. However, the hardening of the zona pellucida in oocytes was not affected by CoQ10 treatment. The in vitro maturation capacity of oocytes, which was determined by the first polar body extrusion, was enhanced from 48.9% to 75.7% by the addition of CoQ10 to the culture medium. During the parthenogenesis process, the number of two-cell embryos was increased by CoQ10 from 43.5% to 67.3%. Additionally, treatment with CoQ10 increased the expression of Bcl2 and Sirt1 in cumulus cells. These results suggested that CoQ10 had a positive effect on ROS reduction, maturation rate and two-cell embryo formation in mouse oocyte culture.

Given the dynamic characteristic of an individual’s drinking behaviours, comprehensive consideration of alcohol consumption variation using repeated measures may improve insight into the nature of its association with blood pressure (BP) change. We examined the association between longitudinal alcohol consumption (trajectory and quantity) and changes in BP and pulse pressure (PP) among Korean aged ≥ 40 years living in rural areas. Totally, 1682 hypertension-free participants who completed all three health examinations (median, 5·3 years) were included. All three visits were used to determine the cumulative trajectory of and quantity of alcohol consumption and the latest two visits and the last visit were used for the recent trajectory and the most recent quantity of alcohol consumption, respectively. Changes in BP and PP from the baseline to the third visit were used as outcome. In men, ≥30 ml/d cumulative average alcohol consumption was associated with the greatest increase in systolic BP (SBP) in both baseline outcome-unadjusted (2·9 mmHg, P = 0·032) and -adjusted models (3·6 mmHg, P = 0·001), and the given association for the most recent alcohol consumption was observed in the baseline outcome-adjusted model (3·9 mmHg, P = 0·003). For PP, similar associations were observed only in the baseline outcome-adjusted model. No meaningful associations in diastolic BP in men and any BP or PP in women existed. The quantity of alcohol consumption rather than the trajectory may be significantly related to raised SBP, and a possible short-term influence of the most recent alcohol consumption may exist when baseline SBP is adjusted in men.

It has not been well established whether dietary folate intake reduces the risk of diabetes development. We aimed to clarify the prospective association between dietary folate intake and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk among 7333 Korean adults aged 40 years or older who were included in the Multi-Rural Communities Cohort. Dietary folate intake was estimated from all 106 food items listed on a FFQ, not including folate intake from supplements. Two different measurements of dietary folate intake were used: the baseline consumption and the average consumption from baseline until just before the end of follow-up. The association between folate intake and T2D risk was determined through a modified Poisson regression model with a robust error estimator controlling for potential confounders. For 29 745 person years, 319 cases of diabetes were ascertained. In multivariable analyses, dietary folate intake was inversely associated with risk of T2D for women, not for men. For women, the incidence rate ratio of diabetes in the third tertile compared with the first tertile was 0·57 (95 % CI 0·38–0·87, Pfor trend=0·0085) in the baseline consumption model and 0·64 (95 % CI 0·43–0·95, Pfor trend=0·0244) in the average consumption model. These inverse associations was found in both normal fasting blood glucose group and impaired fasting glucose group among women. Among non-users of multinutrients and vitamin supplements, the significant inverse association remained. Thus, higher dietary intake of folate is prospectively associated with lower risk of diabetes for women.

The preparation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples from powders is quite difficult and challenging. For powders with particles in the 1–5 μm size range, it is especially difficult to select an adequate sample preparation technique. Epoxy is commonly used to bind powder, but drawbacks, such as differential milling originating from unequal milling rates between the epoxy and powder, remain. We propose a new, simple method for preparing TEM samples. This method is especially useful for powders with particles in the 1–5 μm size range that are vulnerable to oxidation. The method uses solder as an embedding agent together with focused ion beam (FIB) milling. The powder was embedded in low-temperature solder using a conventional hot-mounting instrument. Subsequently, FIB was used to fabricate thin TEM samples via the lift-out technique. The solder proved to be more effective than epoxy in producing thin TEM samples with large areas. The problem of differential milling was mitigated, and the solder binder was more stable than epoxy under an electron beam. This methodology can be applied for preparing TEM samples from various powders that are either vulnerable to oxidation or composed of high atomic number elements.

A new species of callianassid ghost shrimp, Paraglypturus tonganus sp. nov., is described and illustrated on the basis of five specimens that were collected from sediments in a vent field of the Tonga Arc, south-western Pacific Ocean. This new species is morphologically very similar to P. calderus Türkay & Sakai, 1995, the type species of the genus Paraglypturus Türkay & Sakai, 1995. It differs from P. calderus mainly in the absence (vs. presence in P. calderus) of an anterolateral row of setal pores on the carapace; the endopod of the second maxilliped, with a dactylus bearing stiff and thick serrate setae at the apex (vs. without in P. calderus); a yellow circular structure located on the ventral surface on the uropodal endopod (vs. on the dorsal surface on the uropodal exopod in P. calderus); and the articulation structure of the first pleopod in males (uniarticulate in P. tonganus vs. biarticulate in P. calderus). The new species is the first record of a ghost shrimp from a vent field of the Tonga Arc, and also the second reported species of the genus Paraglypturus.

In this study, a near-isogenic line (BC4F10) CR572 developed by introgressing a chromosomal segment from Oryza rufipogon (accession no. 105491) into the Oryza sativa subsp. japonica cv. Hwaseong was found to exhibit a significant increase in the number of spikelets per panicle (SPP) and grain weight compared with the recurrent parent Hwaseong. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in F2 generation derived from the cross between CR572 and Hwaseong revealed that two QTLs, qSPP1 and qTGW1, were linked to a simple sequence repeat marker, RM283, on chromosome 1. The additive effect of the O. rufipogon allele at qSPP1 was 13 SPP, and 21.6% of the phenotypic variance was explained by the segregation of RM283. The qTGW1 QTL explained 19.1% of the phenotypic variance for grain weight. Substitution mapping was carried out with five F3 lines derived from F2 plants having informative recombination breakpoints within the target region. Substitution mapping indicated the linkage of qSPP1 and qTGW1. The grain yield of CR572 was 18.2 and 15.8% higher than that of Hwaseong at two locations, respectively, mainly due to the increase in 1000-grain weight and SPP. These results are very useful for QTL cluster transfer by molecular marker-assisted selection in rice breeding programmes and for QTL gene cloning by map-based cloning.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of benthic invertebrates and their potential food sources, such as suspended particulate organic matter (POM), benthic microalgae, attached algae and seagrass, were identified in Dong-dae Bay during the winter. The carbon stable isotope ratios demonstrate that filter feeders, such as oysters (−19.5 ± 1.0‰), use benthic microalgae (−21.2 ± 0.2‰) as a major food, and polychaetes such as Glycera spp. (−14.0 ± 0.6 ‰) preferentially use meiofauna, such as nematodes (−14.0 ± 0.4‰) and copepods (−13.3 ± 1.0‰). These meiofauna may feed on mixed resources (including bacteria) with the isotope ratios between benthic microalgae (−21.2 ± 0.2‰) and seagrass (−9.3 ± 01.0‰). These findings are consistent with the trophic enrichment in the nitrogen isotope ratios (by 3–4‰) between consumers and food sources. Moreover, the results of the MixSIR model based on the observed isotope ratios suggest a large seagrass contribution to the food sources of benthic organisms such as meiofauna (~53.7–62.6%) and macrobenthos (~41.1–68%) through the food web. This model additionally suggests a relatively large contribution of benthic microalgae to the food sources of filter feeders (i.e. 26.4% for oysters).

Sources of variation in nutrient intake have been examined for Western diets, but little is known about the sources of variation and their differences by age and sex among Koreans. We examined sources of variation in nutrient intake and calculated the number of days needed to estimate usual intake using 12 d of dietary records (DR). To this end, four 3 d DR including two weekdays and one weekend day were collected throughout four seasons of 1 year from 178 male and 236 female adults aged 20–65 years residing in Seoul, Korea. The sources of variation were estimated using the random-effects model, and the variation ratio (within-individual:between-individual) was calculated to determine a desirable number of days. Variations attributable to the day of the week, recording sequence and seasonality were generally small, although the degree of variation differed by sex and age (20–45 years and 46–65 years). The correlation coefficient between the true intake and the observed intake (r) increased with additional DR days, reaching 0·7 at 3–4 d and 0·8 at 6–7 d. However, the degree of increase became attenuated with additional days: r increased by 13·0–26·9 % from 2 to 4 d, by 6·5–16·4 % from 4 to 7 d and by 4·0–11·6 % from 7 to 12 d for energy and fifteen nutrients. In conclusion, the present study suggests that the day of the week, recording sequence and seasonality minimally contribute to the variation in nutrient intake. To measure Korean usual dietary intake using open-ended dietary instruments, 3–4 d may be needed to achieve modest precision (r>0·7) and 6–7 d for high precision (r>0·8).

Stream restoration is an important process affecting the ecological health of stream ecosystems. There have been numerous cases of restoration, dealing with either structural or biological changes. In Korea, most restoration projects have merely dealt with improving hydrological characteristics or water quality; however, in recent years the improvement of ecological characteristics has been an increasing focus for restoration projects. In this study, we utilized data collected from 5675 stream sites in May 2007 to discover general patterns of anthropogenic modification in Korean streams. The survey results after application of the stream modification index (SMI; presence or absence type; high scores indicate more disturbed) provided a general distribution of disturbed/undisturbed streams or rivers in the watershed. We then compared the level of modification with the socio-geographical patterns (population, land coverage, elevation, and slope) for the watershed. The results show that streams in highly populated areas suffered from human modification compared with other well-preserved stream sites. In metropolitan cities, urbanized areas had positive relationship as identified by a high SMI. On the other hand, agricultural land cover identified an SMI increase for lowland river area. In general, mountainous streams possessed a better status in stream morphology due to different land-cover patterns (i.e., mainly forested area); however, some mountainous areas were impacted by concentrated summer rainfall. We could distinguish the forcing variables (i.e., land use pattern) for the disturbed streams through a comparison between the SMI and geographical information; the SMI application was able to identify areas of high necessity for restoration.

We used a database approach in developing a dish-based, semi-quantitative FFQ for Korean diet and cancer research. Cancer-related dietary factors (CRDF) recognised in the scientific community and dietary intake data from the 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2002 Korean National Nutrition Survey by Season were used. The list of dishes (n 993) was those reported to be consumed by individuals over 30 years of age during all four seasons. The resulting 112-dish list was selected using contribution analyses and variability analyses to detect between-person variation for CRDF and non-CRDF nutrients. Variations of each dish were grouped into one dish for the final list of 112 dishes, which were then linked to the nutrient database. The final 112 dish items consisted of nine Korean staple dishes, including rice and noodles, twenty-five soups and stews, fifty-four side dishes, nine beverages, nine fruit dishes and six alcoholic beverages. The percentage coverages of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol intake in the selected 112 dishes were 82·4, 76·4, 68·9, 86·0 and 99·8 %, respectively. Dietary exposure to cancer-related Korean dietary factors can be assessed by this new dish-based, semi-quantitative FFQ. This new instrument can calculate the intake of CRDF along with non-CRDF nutrient intake for cancer research.

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) films were deposited on crystalline silicon substrate by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD). In this paper, various process parameter-gas flow rate, ICP RF power, Process pressure were discussed for the investigation of refractive index. And some properties of the SiO2 film are investigated. Since there was no external substrate heating during the deposition, the SiO2 film showed poor electrical characteristics, such as shifted flat-band voltage and high effective charge density. We have proposed He plasma pre-treatment in order to reduce the interface fixed charge and some post-treatment. Our experimental results shows that He plasma pre-treatment supply thermal energy for decomposition of reactant gas and to remove effective charges. Hydrogen post-treatment also enhances electrical characteristics. We measured the effect of the plasma treatment using FT-IR spectrum and C-V characteristics.

Bump process using gold bump led to many cleaning problems like polymer residues, metal and polyimide consumption after stripping process. First of all, stripping process of bump photoresist is one of the difficult technologies since thickness of PR pattern of bump is thicker than that of general metal line at least 100 times. We investigated the improvement of LDI BUMP stripping Process at 25 with new chemical. We found that the wettability may be improved when the additive was added to the chemical and it improves the stripping ability. It was found that new chemical was superior to commercial chemical in terms of chemical stability, removal efficiency of polymer residue and decrease in metal and polyimide consumption. Also, we could obtain removal mechanism of photoresist pattern by measured Raman equipment and enhancement of yield in mass production line of semiconductor.