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The Conditional Reasoning Test-Relative Motive Strength (CRT-RMS; James, 1998) has been shown to be a psychometrically reliable and valid approach for measuring motives and biases. The use of this measurement system has yielded significant associations with college student achievement in the US and European contexts, with a magnitude of association which has not been demonstrated with self-report personality tests. This study demonstrates how the utility of the CRT-RMS generalizes to college student samples in Korea based on its association with GPA and its discriminant pattern of associations with self-report measures.

Conditional Reasoning Test for Relative Motive Strength (CRT-RMS) refers to the instrument that assesses individuals’ achievement motivation inferred from their reasoning styles. The CRT-RMS in South Korea, however, needs further investigation before it can be widely used in the workplace. The current study tested the reliability and predictive validity of the modified version of the CRT-RMS in the context of academic and workplace settings in South Korea. Study 1 revealed an acceptable level of internal reliability and concurrent validity of the CRT-RMS in explaining the variance of academic performance (i.e., exam scores) in the college sample. Study 2 found that the CRT-RMS is significantly associated with achievement goal setting (i.e., sales goals) and explained a significant amount of variance in job performance (i.e., sales volume) in the sales representative sample. The findings suggest the potential of the CRT-RMS as an efficient instrument in assessing achievement motivation and achievement behavior among the Korean population.

Ligilactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive lactobacilli commonly found in the intestinal tracts of vertebrates. It has been granted a Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) status from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). One specific strain, Ligilactobacillus salivarius B4311, was isolated from fecal samples of broiler chickens from a farm associated with Chung-Ang University (Anseong, Korea). This strain was observed to have inhibitory effects against Listeria monocytogenes. In this paper, we present the complete genome sequence of Lig. salivarius B4311. The whole genome of strain B4311 comprises 2,071,255 bp assembled into 3 contigs representing a chromosome, repA-type megaplasmid, and small plasmid. The genome contains 1,963 protein-coding sequences, 22 rRNA genes, and 78 tRNA genes, with a guanine + cytosine (GC) content of 33.1%. The megaplasmid of strain B4311 was found to contain the bacteriocin gene cluster for salivaricin P, a two-peptide bacteriocin belonging to class IIb.

The mobile phone appropriation (MPA; Wirth et al., 2007, 2008) model is an integrative model that seeks to explain attitudes and behaviors related to mobile phone usage from a communication perspective, proposing a dynamic loop of metacommunication, evaluations, and usage patterns. Following a previous study (Lee & Cioena, 2023), the current research tests the MPA model with a Chinese sample collected through an online survey (N = 510) and compares it with the U.S. sample (N = 501) collected by Lee and Cionea (2023) using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup structural equation modeling. Although the core structure of MPA model was shown to be tenable cross-culturally, the results of comparative analysis reveal some noticeable cultural differences in mobile phone appropriation and call for further model revisions. Noticeably, relational and social implications of mobile communication penetrate more aspects of mobile phone appropriation with greater strength in the Chinese sample, potentially due to the collectivistic Chinese culture, and the results demonstrate a paradox between perceived affordability and usage. The more Chinese participants evaluated the cost of mobile phone usage as a restrictive factor of MPA, corroborate the more they used it for relationship maintenance and daily schedule management. In addition, the results indicate some tensions between instrumental purposes and entertainment and symbolic usage unique to the Chinese context.

Background: This study represents a thorough exploration of the radioactivity levels in soil and rock samples collected from Stubla Village, Kosovo. The main aim is to evaluate the potential hazards and risks associated with using these materials in construction, and this is a common practice among residents when building homes. Materials and Methods: Gamma spectrometry was employed to analyze 19 soil samples and seven rock samples, followed by the calculation of the primary radiological parameters. Results and Discussion: The activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs was determined in soil samples (95.84±67.5, 75.51±35.5, 12.87±23.5, and 738.87±186.7 Bq/kg, respectively) and natural rock samples (199.8±190.2, 147.0±14.3, 967.1±47.4 Bq/kg, and not detected, respectively). Almost all the calculated health radiological hazard factors exceeded the recommended limits by international professional organizations. Conclusion: The rocks from this specific region are unsuitable for construction work due to their high radioactivity levels. This emphasizes potential environmental and health risks. The findings underscore the importance of implementing alternative materials for construction. Additionally, further investigations into radioactivity risks in the area under study should be conducted, such as assessing radioactivity concentrations in drinking water, food, and indoor radon exposures, to ensure the safety and well-being of the community and the environment.

The feasibility of producing plastic samples from Styrofoam products dissolved in d-limonene oil was determined in order to help solve the problem of the increasing demand for plastic bags and the continuous buildup of Styrofoam wastes that pose severe environmental threats. The plastics were made by dissolving the Styrofoam products in d-limonene at a ratio of 0.37 grams of Styrofoam to 2mL of d-limonene (Bautista, 2002). The solutions were then placed into molds, immersed in glycerol and left to air-dry to produce a plastic-like polymer. The product was then flattened and tested for strength, biodegradability and permeability, in comparison with biodegradable plastics from a local bookstore. Three samples of each type of plastic were subjected to such tests with each test having controlled setups. The weight before the plastic ruptures was taken for the strength test while the initial and final weights were taken for the permeability and biodegradability tests. A t-test for correlated samples was used to compare the two types of plastics. The experimental plastic was found to be comparable to commercially available plastic sheets, in terms of permeability and biodegradability but not in strength.

Background: This work was to get information about 90Sr contamination of the environment by using soil and moss from selected areas in Jeju Island, Korea. Materials and Methods: The activities of 90Sr in soil and moss samples were investigated at nine locations of Jeju island, Korea. The soil samples have been collected at 4 sites of Jeju island during June to August of 2013, analyzed for vertical distribution of 90Sr activities. The moss samples have been collected at 5 sites of Jeju island during November of 2011 to June of 2012, and analyzed for radioactive 90Sr. Results and Discussion: The 90Sr vertical concentrations in the investigated soil samples were 2.77 to 18.24 Bq·kg-1 in eastern part, 1.69 to 18.27 Bq·kg-1 in northern part, 3.76 to 13.46 Bq·kg-1 in the western part and 1.09 to 8.70 Bq·kg-1 in the southern part of the Mt. Halla in Jeju island, respectively. Activities of 90Sr show the highest value at the surface soil and decrease with depth. The activity concentration measured was in the range of 79.6 to 363 Bq·kg-1 -dry moss. Conclusion: This material is expected to be basis reference for survey of environmental radioactivity in Jeju Island.

Lee, Kim, et al. reported in July 2023 that a modified lead apatite material, Pb10-xCux(PO4)6O (0.9 < x < 1.1), exhibited superconductivity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure [1, 2]. However, their X-ray diffraction data clearly showed the presence of impurity phases, including Cu2S, raising uncertainty about the sample quality. Subsequent studies have been conducted; however, different samples exhibited various physical properties. To verify the recipe for the sample growth process, we synthesized samples following the methodology outlined in the reference [1, 2]. An analysis of the structure and physical properties of the synthesized sample reaffirms the critical importance of high-quality sample growth.

Potential utility of 14 candidate housekeeping genes as normalization reference for RT-qPCR analysis with developmental samples (fertilized eggs to late veliger larvae) in Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai was evaluated using four different statistical algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and comparative ΔCT method). Different algorithms identified different genes as the best candidates, and geometric mean-based final ranking from the most to the least stable expression was as follow: RPL5, RPL4, RPS18, RPL8, RPL7, UBE2, RPL7A, GAPDH, RPL36, PPIB, EF1A, ACTB and B-TU. The findings were further validated via relative quantification of metallothionein (MT) transcripts using the stable and unstable reference genes, and expression levels of MT were greatly influenced according to the choice of reference genes. In overall, our data suggest that RPL5 and RPS18, either singly or in combination, are appropriate for normalizing gene expression in developmental samples of this abalone species, whereas ACTB, B-TU and EF1A are less stable and not recommended. In addition, our findings propose that standard deviations in geometric ranking as well as geometric mean itself should also be taken into account for the final selection of reference gene(s). This study could be a useful basis to facilitate the generation of accurate and reliable RT-qPCR data with developmental samples in this abalone species.