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This study analyzes energy supply and demand‐side management strategies to increase the renewable energy share in a distributed energy system (DES), which includes demand response (DR) options and different renewable energy sources (RES) and energy storage systems (ESS). To analyze the least costs for increasing the renewable energy share by integrating the DR, RES, and ESS, four scenarios of the DES were generated. Then, a new optimization model was proposed to identify the optimal design and operation strategies, which includes maximizing the profit as an objective function subject to various constraints, such as technical capacity and electricity price. To illustrate the capability of the proposed model, this study presented a case study of the DES for the residential sector of Jeju Island, Korea. The results showed that the optimal scenario, involving the integration of the DR, RES, and ESS, shows 0.115 $/kW hr of the levelized cost of electricity and 10% of renewable energy share, which correspond to 32.7% and 31.5% improvement, respectively, compared to the baseline. Additionally, the practical strategies to meet the Korean target of the high‐share RES were discussed through a sensitivity analysis of major external factors, such as carbon tax, incentives, and the electricity trading price in electricity markets.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV) presents one of the challenging viral pathogens in the global pork industry. PRRS is characterized by two distinct clinical presentations; reproductive failure in breeding animals (gilts, sows, and boars), and respiratory disease in growing pigs. PRRSV is further divided into two species: PRRSV-1 (formerly known as the European genotype 1) and PRRSV-2 (formerly known as the North American genotype 2). A PRRSV-2 modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine was first introduced in North America in 1994, and, six years later, a PRRSV-1 MLV vaccine was also introduced in Europe. Since then, MLV vaccination is the principal strategy used to control PRRSV infection. Despite the fact that MLV vaccines have shown some efficacy, they were problematic as the efficacy of vaccine was often unpredictable and depended highly on the field virus. This paper focused on the efficacy of commercially available MLV vaccines at a global level based on respiratory disease in growing pigs, and maternal and paternal reproductive failure in breeding animals.

RNA interference mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has been exploited for the development of therapeutics. siRNAs can be a powerful therapeutic tool because the working mechanisms of siRNAs are straightforward. siRNAs determine targets based on their sequence and specifically regulate the gene expression of the target gene. However, efficient delivery of siRNAs to the target organ has long been an issue that needs to be solved. Tremendous efforts regarding siRNA delivery have led to significant progress in siRNA drug development, and from 2018 to 2022, a total of five siRNA drugs were approved for the treatment of patients. Although all FDA-approved siRNA drugs target the hepatocytes of the liver, siRNA-based drugs targeting different organs are in clinical trials. In this review, we introduce siRNA drugs in the market and siRNA drug candidates in clinical trials that target cells in multiple organs. The liver, eye, and skin are the preferred organs targeted by siRNAs. Three or more siRNA drug candidates are in phase 2 or 3 clinical trials to suppress gene expression in these preferred organs. On the other hand, the lungs, kidneys, and brain are challenging organs with relatively few clinical trials. We discuss the characteristics of each organ related to the advantages and disadvantages of siRNA drug targeting and strategies to overcome the barriers in delivering siRNAs based on organ-specific siRNA drugs that have progressed to clinical trials. Drug development: Refining RNA-based therapeutics to target multiple organs Refining the design and delivery of RNA-based drugs could improve the chances of targeting diseases in complex organs. Gene expression is regulated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which bind to messenger RNA sequences, preventing subsequent gene expression. Drugs based on siRNA show promise as safe and specialised for multiple diseases. Jinju Han and co-workers at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea, reviewed the current status of siRNA drugs. Five siRNAs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration target the liver, while drugs targeting eye conditions and wound healing in the skin are in clinical trials. Targeting complex organs like the brain and lungs remains challenging, because the size of siRNAs and their delivery mechanisms must be adjusted in order to pass safely into target regions.

The current study was part of large experiments in a replicated 4×4 Latin square design where 4 dietary treatments (feed supplements) were examined. Fecal samples were obtained from the experiments via total collection (Experiment 1, n = 30; Experiment 2, n = 16). Feed and fecal samples were analyzed for acid detergent insoluble ash (ADIA) and nutrients, and those were used to estimate fecal output (FO) and nutrient digestibilites. Data within each experiment were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS to determine diet, method (actual vs. estimated by ADIA), and their interaction on FO and apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients. A linear regression for FO between actual and estimated by ADIA was also conducted. The recovery of ADIA was 106% in both experiments. The use of ADIA tended to underestimate FO by 5% (Exp. 2, p = 0.09) and overestimate nutrient digestibilities by 2% to 5% (Exp. 1, p≤0.08). The linear regression resulted in the slope of 0.80 (against 1, p = 0.02) and the intercept of 1.93 (against 0, p = 0.21). In conclusion, ADIA is a potential marker for lactating cows in estimating FO when corrected by the factor obtained from the regression analysis.

Objective: This in vitro study determined the combination effect of nitrate and lactate on nitrate reduction, rumen fermentation and methane production. We hypothesized that the combination decreases methane production and enhances nitrate reduction. Methods: An in vitro batch culture was conducted to determine the 2 main factors of nitrate and lactate in 2×2 factorial arrangement: a basal diet (CON), the basal diet supplemented with nitrate (2.2% in dietary dry matter [DM]; Nit), lactate (2.2%; Lact), or the combination of nitrate and lactate (Nit-Lact). Rumen fluids from lactating Holstein cows were obtained and mixed with McDougall's buffer for the in vitro batch culture. Total gas production, methane production, pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA), NH3-N, NO3-N and NO2-N concentration, and DM digestibility were determined. Results: A trend of interaction between nitrate and lactate was observed for DM digestibility (p = 0.06), which occurred because DM digestibility tended to decrease for Nit compared with CON (42.2 vs. 45.3%) but did not for Nit-Lact. Nitrate decreased (p<0.05) methane (25.6 vs. 31.0 mL at 24 h) and total gas production (296 vs. 313 mL at 24 h). Total VFA production was not affected by treatments. However, nitrate increased the proportion of acetate (p<0.01) and decreased (p<0.01) proportions of propionate, butyrate and valerate at 24 h of incubation. However, lactate increased valerate at 24 h of incubation (p<0.01). The concentration of NO3-N for Nit-Lact was lower than that of Nit (41.2 vs. 51.0 mg/L; p<0.01) at 3 h of incubation. Conclusion: Nitrate decreased methane production. The combination of nitrate and lactate had beneficial effects on DM digestibility and nitrate reduction, compared with nitrate alone although no interaction between nitrate and lactate was shown for VFA production and methane production. Changes in the major VFA by nitrate indicated that nitrate acted as an alternative electron acceptor to decrease methane production.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) is a coreceptor of the β-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling pathway. The LRP6 ectodomain binds Wnt proteins, as well as Wnt inhibitors such as sclerostin (SOST), which negatively regulates Wnt signaling in osteocytes. Although LRP6 ectodomain 1 (E1) is known to interact with SOST, several unresolved questions remain, such as the reason why SOST binds to LRP6 E1E2 with higher affinity than to the E1 domain alone. Here, we present the crystal structure of the LRP6 E1E2–SOST complex with two interaction sites in tandem. The unexpected additional binding site was identified between the C-terminus of SOST and the LRP6 E2 domain. This interaction was confirmed by in vitro binding and cell-based signaling assays. Its functional significance was further demonstrated in vivo using Xenopus laevis embryos. Our results provide insights into the inhibitory mechanism of SOST on Wnt signaling. The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) is a co-receptor of the β-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling pathway and interacts with the Wnt inhibitor sclerostin (SOST). Here the authors present the crystal structure of SOST in complex with the LRP6 E1E2 ectodomain construct, which reveals that the SOST C-terminus binds to the LRP6 E2 domain, and further validate this binding site with in vitro and in vivo experiments.

A novel NADC34‐like strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), named SNUVP231106, was isolated from a farm where pigs experienced respiratory symptoms and abortions. In this study, a SNUVP231106 strain was fully sequenced and evaluated for its pathogenicity. The genomic sequence of SNUVP231106 was NADC34‐like PRRSV which was classified as sublineage 1.5 with 100 amino acid (aa) continuous deletions in nsp2. The Korean NADC34‐like PRRSV strain SNUVP231106 is a restriction fragment polymorphism pattern of 1‐6‐4 according to the genetic analysis of the open reading frame (ORF) 5 gene. Recombination analysis revealed that the Korean NADC34‐like PRRSV strain SNUVP231106 is a recombinant strain, with IA/2014/NADC34 as the major parent and both RespPRRS‐MLV and NADC30 as minor parents. Animal studies demonstrated that infection with the NADC34‐like PRRSV strain SNUVP231106 resulted in 100% morbidity and 37.5% mortality, accompanied by high viremia, elevated fever, and significant weight loss. Pathological findings included interstitial pneumonia, thymus atrophy, and perivascular cuffing in the brain. These experimental results confirm that the NADC34‐like PRRSV strain SNUVP231106 exhibits high pathogenicity in piglets.

Multi-layer multi-pass welding plays an important role in manufacturing industries such as nuclear power plants, pressure vessel manufacturing, and ship building. However, distortion or welding defects are still challenges; therefore, welding monitoring and quality control are essential tasks for the dynamic adjustment of execution during welding. The aim was to propose a machine vision system for monitoring and surface quality evaluation during multi-pass welding using a line scanner and infrared camera sensors. The cross-section modelling based on the line scanner data enabled the measurement of distortion and dynamic control of the welding plan. Lack of fusion, porosity, and burn-through defects were intentionally generated by controlling welding parameters to construct a defect inspection dataset. To reduce the influence of material surface colour, the proposed normal map approach combined with a deep learning approach was applied for inspecting the surface defects on each layer, achieving a mean average precision of 0.88. In addition to monitoring the temperature of the weld pool, a burn-through defect detection algorithm was introduced to track welding status. The whole system was integrated into a graphical user interface to visualize the welding progress. This work provides a solid foundation for monitoring and potential for the further development of the automatic adaptive welding system in multi-layer multi-pass welding.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) remains a major challenge to swine health and production globally. Among PRRSV-2 lineages circulating in South Korea, the lineage 1J (L1J)-recently reclassified from lineage Korean clade C (LKC)-has emerged as an epidemiologically significant variant, accounting for approximately 15%-28.9% of cases in recent years. Despite its widespread circulation, data on the reproductive pathogenicity of L1J strains remain scarce. To address this gap, an experimental infection study was conducted to evaluate the reproductive pathogenicity of PRRSV strain SNUVR220803 in pregnant gilts. This strain, originally classified within L1J and is characterized by multiple recombination events with lineage 5 viruses-presumably the Ingelvac PRRS MLV vaccine strain, as well as a unique four-amino acid deletion in Nsp2. Eight PRRSV-naïve pregnant gilts at 86 days of gestation were randomly assigned to either the infected (  = 4) or control (  = 4) group. Inoculated gilts exhibited elevated rectal temperatures at 2 days postinoculation (dpi), followed by clinical signs including anorexia and lethargy between 7 and 10 dpi. Clinical recovery was observed by 14 dpi; however, all infected gilts subsequently experienced abortion or premature farrowing at gestational days 109-112, during which no viable piglets were recovered, except for two that died within 30 min after birth without trauma, indicating intrauterine death or severe neonatal compromise. These findings demonstrate that SNUVR220803 possesses markedly higher reproductive pathogenicity than previously reported L1J strains, such as K07-2273. Given that PRRSV reproductive virulence cannot be fully explained by ORF5-based classification alone, the heightened pathogenicity of SNUVR220803 is likely attributed to a combination of mutations in nonstructural and structural proteins. These results highlight the need for continued molecular surveillance and pathogenicity studies of emerging PRRSV strains.