Multi-Camera-Based Sorting System for Surface Defects of Apples.

In this paper, we addressed the challenges in sorting high-yield apple cultivars that traditionally relied on manual labor or system-based defect detection. Existing single-camera methods failed to uniformly capture the entire surface of apples, potentially leading to misclassification due to defects in unscanned areas. Various methods were proposed where apples were rotated using rollers on a conveyor. However, since the rotation was highly random, it was difficult to scan the apples uniformly for accurate classification. To overcome these limitations, we proposed a multi-camera-based apple sorting system with a rotation mechanism that ensured uniform and accurate surface imaging. The proposed system applied a rotation mechanism to individual apples while simultaneously utilizing three cameras to capture the entire surface of the apples. This method offered the advantage of quickly and uniformly acquiring the entire surface compared to single-camera and random rotation conveyor setups. The images captured by the system were analyzed using a CNN classifier deployed on embedded hardware. To maintain excellent CNN classifier performance while reducing its size and inference time, we employed knowledge distillation techniques. The CNN classifier demonstrated an inference speed of 0.069 s and an accuracy of 93.83% based on 300 apple samples. The integrated system, which included the proposed rotation mechanism and multi-camera setup, took a total of 2.84 s to sort one apple. Our proposed system provided an efficient and precise solution for detecting defects on the entire surface of apples, improving the sorting process with high reliability.

Solution-Driven Imprinting Lithography of Sol-Gel ZnO Thin Films for Liquid Crystal Display.

We present a simple and economically convenient method to fabricate nanopatterned ZnO films by imprinting lithography and use them for the layer alignment of liquid crystal (LC) displays. First, a one-dimensional nanopattern was obtained by laser interference lithography on a silicon wafer, and the silicon mold replica was transferred onto a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheet for conformal patterning. The so-obtained PDMS mold was then applied on a ZnO film spin-coated on a glass substrate. During the imprinting process, the temperature was controlled from 100 to 250 °C to observe the transferring morphologies of the ZnO film; the nanopattern was successfully transferred at annealing temperatures of 200 and 250 °C because the ZnO film at the sol state filled the cavities of the PDMS nanopattern and solidified, forming a negative replica of the nanopattern. The direction of the nanopatterned ZnO film served as a guide for aligning the LC molecules on the LC surface at the centimeter scale and, due to their elastic characteristics and group behavior, propagating their directional states in the LC bulk. The resulting LC cell exhibited an enhanced electro-optical performance and high thermal endurance above 180 °C. The geometry of the alignment layer increased the electric field on the ZnO film and showed reduced threshold voltage. In addition, since flexible devices are generally based on polyimide, which imidized at around 200 °C, the relatively low annealing temperatures of our fabricated nanopatterned ZnO film allow it to be mounted on such devices without any deterioration of the underlying thermoplastic substrate. Therefore, nanopatterned ZnO has a considerable potential for advanced LC displays.

Epsilon Wave Masked by ST-Segment Elevation After Cardioversion From Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia: An Exceptional Manifestation of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Early recognition and management of ventricular dysrhythmia (VD) are among the top priorities in the medical field, and are very important in cases of suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Here we present a case of ventricular tachycardia (VT), which should be considered in ACS. CASE REPORT: A 59-year-old man with unstable vital signs visited the emergency department (ED) after a syncopal episode associated with chest discomfort. Initial electrocardiography (ECG) revealed wide complex tachycardia, which was considered monomorphic VT. After successful cardioversion, ST-segment elevation was observed on subsequent ECG with reciprocal ST-segment depression. Immediate pharmacological treatment and coronary angiography were performed because of suspected acute myocardial infarction; however, normal coronary arteries were observed. On subsequent ECG analysis, a small blip at the end of the QRS complex termed an epsilon wave, which is a characteristic finding in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C), was detected in the V1 lead. A borderline diagnosis of ARVD/C was made based solely on ECG findings, and the definite diagnosis was confirmed using echocardiography. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was inserted soon after, and the patient reported no further events. Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This?: ARVD/C is a critical disease entity that is commonly associated with life-threatening VA. However, presentations of ARVD/C resembling ACS are exceptionally rare. Accordingly, accurate diagnosis of ARVD/C in ED settings is clinically challenging. A high clinical suspicion is required to identify ARVD/C and avoid further life-threatening episodes.

Formation of Wrinkle Structures on Styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene Films Using One-Step Ion-Beam Irradiation.

We investigated the wrinkle formation on ion-beam (IB)-irradiated substrates coated with the thermoplastic elastomer styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene (SIS) and demonstrate a relation of the wrinkle structure and the newly formed top layer induced by IB. IB irradiation led to polymer cross-linking on the surface, thereby forming a new skin layer, a finding which was supported by an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, Young moduli calculated using force-distance curves, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling. The wrinkle wavelength increased according to the irradiation time, which indicates that the latter mainly increased the thickness of the cross-linking layer. The increase in the wrinkle wavelength varied from 420 to 670 nm by changing the IB irradiation time. In this paper, we present not only the expectation of wrinkle fabrication using our method but also the possibility of choosing diverse materials such as the thermoplastic elastomer SIS for fabrication of wrinkle structures.

Thermocells for Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems.

The photovoltaic conversion efficiency of solar cells is highly temperature dependent and decreases with increasing temperature. Therefore, the thermal management of solar cells is crucial for the efficient utilization of solar energy. We fabricate a hybrid photovoltaic/thermocell (PV/T) module by integrating a thermocell directly into the back of a solar panel and explore the feasibility of the module for its practical implementation. The proposed PV/T hybrid not only performs the cooling of the solar cells but also produces an additional power output by converting the heat stored in the solar cell into useful electric energy through the thermocell. Under illumination with an air mass of 1.5 G, the conversion efficiency of the solar cell can improve from 13.2% to 15% by cooling the solar cell from 61 °C to 34 °C and simultaneously obtaining an additional power of 3.53 µW/cm2 from the thermocell. The advantages of the PV/T module presented in this work, such as the additional power generation from the thermocell as well as the simultaneous cooling of the solar cells and its convenient installation, can lead to the module's importance in practical and large-scale deployment.

One-dimensional surface wrinkling for twisted nematic liquid crystal display based on ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography.

Surface wrinkling method is used to fabricate a 1-dimensional nanostructure. The structure is transferred to an ultraviolet cured polymer which is used as an alignment layer. The anisotropic geometry serves as a guide for aligning liquid crystal molecules uniformly without defects. The TN-LC cell showed a successful LC switching, with a response time of 20.5 ms, and a threshold voltage of 2.00 V. It also exhibited high thermal stability above 180°C. The proposed UV-cured polymers with 1-D nano wrinkle geometry can be a candidate for alternative alignment techniques, for advanced liquid crystal devices with high thermal budgets.

Development of a live attenuated trivalent porcine rotavirus A vaccine against disease caused by recent strains most prevalent in South Korea.

Porcine rotaviruses cause severe economic losses in the Korean swine industry due to G- and P-genotype mismatches between the predominant field and vaccine strains. Here, we developed a live attenuated trivalent porcine group A rotavirus vaccine using 80 cell culture passages of the representative Korean predominant strains G8P[7] 174-1, G9P[23] PRG942, and G5P[7] K71. Vaccination with the trivalent vaccine or its individual components induced no diarrhea during the first 2 weeks post-vaccination, i.e., the vaccines were attenuated. Challenge of trivalent-vaccinated or component-vaccinated piglets with homologous virulent strain(s) did not induce diarrhea for 2 weeks post-challenge. Immunization with the trivalent vaccine or its individual components also alleviated the histopathological lesions in the small intestines caused by challenge with the corresponding original virulent strain(s). Fecal secretory IgAs specific for each of vaccine strains were detected starting at 14 days post-vaccination (dpv), and IgA levels gradually increased up to 28 dpv. Oral immunization with the trivalent vaccine or its individual components induced high levels of serum virus-neutralizing antibody by 7 dpv. No diarrhea was observed in any experimental piglets during five consecutive passages of each vaccine strain. Our data indicated that the live attenuated trivalent vaccine was safe and effective at protecting piglets from diarrhea induced by challenge exposure of homologous virulent strains. This trivalent vaccine will potentially contribute toward controlling porcine rotavirus disease in South Korea and other countries where rotavirus infections with similar G and P genotypes are problematic.

Physicochemical Modification Effect on Homogeneously Aligned Liquid Crystals Based on the Nickel Oxide Thin Film.

We demonstrated homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) alignment on Nickel Oxide (NiO) films subjected to ion beam (IB) irradiation. Uniform LC alignment was achieved at high IB intensity values of 1200 and 1800 eV. To determine the mechanism of LC alignment following IB irradiation, physicochemical analysis was performed using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. IB irradiation with high intensity increases uniformity of the surface, and IB irradiation induces the formation of oxygen vacancies and increases the NiO (Ni2+) phase components. Hence, both of the smooth surface and the strong van der Waals interactions between the NiO film and the LC molecules provides the LC molecules with a stable anchor on the surface, leading to uniform LC alignment on NiO films after IB irradiation. IB-irradiated NiO exhibited a high transparency of 85% in the visible light range as compared with the 83% average transmittance of conventional polyimide, which makes the IB-irradiated NiO alignment layer attractive in display devices.

A novel intensity-based multi-level classification approach for coronary plaque characterization in intravascular ultrasound images.

BACKGROUND: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a commonly used diagnostic imaging method for coronary artery disease. Virtual histology (VH) characterizes the plaque components into fibrous tissue (FT), fibro-fatty tissue (FFT), necrotic core (NC), or dense calcium (DC). However, VH can obtain only a single-frame image in one cardiac cycle, and specific software is needed to obtain the radio frequency data. This study proposed a novel intensity-based multi-level classification model for plaque characterization. METHODS: The plaque-containing regions between the intima and the media-adventitia were segmented manually for all IVUS frames. A total of 54 features including first order statistics, grey level co-occurrence matrix, Law's energy measures, extended grey level run length matrix, intensity, and local binary pattern were estimated from the plaque-containing regions. After feature extraction, optimal features were selected using principle component analysis (PCA), and these were utilized as the input for the classification models. Plaque components were classified into FT, FFT, NC, or DC using an intensity-based multi-level classification model consisting of three different nets. Net 1 differentiated low-intensity components into FT/FFT and NC/DC groups. Then, net 2 subsequently divided FT/FFT into FT or FFT, whereas the remainder and high-intensity components were classified into NC or DC via net 3. To improve classification accuracy, each net utilized three different input features obtained by PCA. Classification performance was evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Quantitative results indicated that the proposed method showed significantly high classification accuracy for all tissue types. The classifiers had classification accuracies of 85.1%, 71.9%, and 77.2%, respectively, and the areas under the curve were 0.845, 0.704, and 0.783. In particular, the proposed method achieved relatively high sensitivity (82.0%) and specificity (87.1%) for differentiating between the FT/FFT and NC/DC groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirmed the clinical applicability of the proposed approach for IVUS-based tissue characterization.

Both nitric oxide and nitrite prevent homocysteine-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and subsequent apoptosis via cGMP-dependent pathway in neuronal cells.

Growing evidence indicates that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and/or ER stress-mediated apoptosis may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The present study investigated the effects of non-cytotoxic concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrite, a metabolite of NO, on ER stress and ER stress-mediated apoptosis in Neuro-2a cells exposed to homocysteine (Hcy), an endogenous ER stress inducer. Hcy induced ER stress, as confirmed by inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) phosphorylation and X-box-binding protein-1 (Xbp1) mRNA splicing as well as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) expression, and apoptosis, as verified by Annexin V-positive cells. Surprisingly, non-cytotoxic NO (S-nitrosoglutathione) and nitrite markedly reduced Hcy-induced IRE1α phosphorylation, Xbp1 mRNA splicing, CHOP expression, and Annexin V-positive cells, indicating the cytoprotection of NO and nitrite against Hcy-induced ER stress and apoptosis. Moreover, inhibition of sGC/cGMP pathway abolished the cytoprotective effects of NO and nitrite, whereas cellular elevation of cGMP levels mimicked the cytoprotective actions of NO and nitrite. These findings provide the first evidence showing that both NO and nitrite can reduce ER stress and subsequent apoptosis via NO-sGC-cGMP pathway in neuronal cells and suggesting that NO and/or nitrite may have therapeutic value in the treatment of ER stress-associated neurodegenerative diseases.

Porcine Sapelovirus Uses α2,3-Linked Sialic Acid on GD1a Ganglioside as a Receptor.

UNLABELLED: The receptor(s) for porcine sapelovirus (PSV), which causes diarrhea, pneumonia, polioencephalomyelitis, and reproductive disorders in pigs, remains largely unknown. Given the precedent for other picornaviruses which use terminal sialic acids (SAs) as receptors, we examined the role of SAs in PSV binding and infection. Using a variety of approaches, including treating cells with a carbohydrate-destroying chemical (NaIO4), mono- or oligosaccharides (N-acetylneuraminic acid, galactose, and 6'-sialyllactose), linkage-specific sialidases (neuraminidase and sialidase S), lectins (Maakia amurensislectin andSambucus nigralectin), proteases (trypsin and chymotrypsin), and glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors (dl-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol and phospholipase C), we demonstrated that PSV could recognize α2,3-linked SA on glycolipids as a receptor. On the other hand, PSVs had no binding affinity for synthetic histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), suggesting that PSVs could not use HBGAs as receptors. Depletion of cell surface glycolipids followed by reconstitution studies indicated that GD1a ganglioside, but not other gangliosides, could restore PSV binding and infection, further confirming α2,3-linked SA on GD1a as a PSV receptor. Our results could provide significant information on the understanding of the life cycle of sapelovirus and other picornaviruses. For the broader community in the area of pathogens and pathogenesis, these findings and insights could contribute to the development of affordable, useful, and efficient drugs for anti-sapelovirus therapy. IMPORTANCE: The porcine sapelovirus (PSV) is known to cause enteritis, pneumonia, polioencephalomyelitis, and reproductive disorders in pigs. However, the receptor(s) that the PSV utilizes to enter host cells remains largely unknown. Using a variety of approaches, we showed that α2,3-linked terminal sialic acid (SA) on the cell surface GD1a ganglioside could be used for PSV binding and infection as a receptor. On the other hand, histo-blood group antigens also present in the cell surface carbohydrates could not be utilized as PSV receptors for binding and infection. These findings should contribute to the understanding of the sapelovirus life cycle and to the development of affordable, useful and efficient drugs for anti-sapelovirus therapy.

Comparison of the effects of core stabilization and chest mobilization exercises on lung function and chest wall expansion in stroke patients.

[Purpose] The main purpose of this study was to compare the effects of core stabilization and chest mobilization exercises on pulmonary function and chest expansion in chronic stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups: a core stabilization exercise group (n=15) and a chest mobilization exercise group (n=15). Each exercise was performed 3 times per week for 30 minutes for 4 weeks, and pulmonary function and chest expansion when breathing were measured for both groups. [Results] There were significant increases in both forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second before and after intervention. Core stabilization exercise resulted in a significant increase in peak expiratory flow, and significant increases in upper and lower chest expansion were detected with chest mobilization exercise. However, no significant difference was revealed between the two groups. [Conclusion] This study suggested that both exercises were effective in some aspects of pulmonary function while core stabilization can help increase peak expiratory flow and chest mobilization can assist with chest expansion.

Pathogenesis of Korean SapelovirusA in piglets and chicks.

Sapelovirus A (SV-A), formerly known as porcine sapelovirus as a member of a new genus Sapelovirus, is known to cause enteritis, pneumonia, polioencephalomyelitis and reproductive disorders in pigs. We have recently identified α2,3-linked sialic acid on GD1a ganglioside as a functional SV-A receptor rich in the cells of pigs and chickens. However, the role of GD1a in viral pathogenesis remains elusive. Here, we demonstrated that a Korean SV-A strain could induce diarrhoea and intestinal pathology in piglets but not in chicks. Moreover, this Korean SV-A strain had mild extra-intestinal tropisms appearing as mild, non-suppurative myelitis, encephalitis and pneumonia in piglets, but not in chicks. By real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR, higher viral RNA levels were detected in faecal samples than in sera or extra-intestinal organs from virus-inoculated piglets. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that high viral antigens were detected in the epithelial cells of intestines from virus-inoculated piglets but not from chicks. This Korean SV-A strain could bind the cultured cell lines originated from various species, but replication occurred only in cells of porcine origin. These data indicated that this Korean SV-A strain could replicate and induce pathology in piglets but not in chicks, suggesting that additional porcine-specific factors are required for virus entry and replication. In addition, this Korean SV-A strain is enteropathogenic, but could spread to the bloodstream from the gut and disseminate to extra-intestinal organs and tissues. These results will contribute to our understanding of SV-A pathogenesis so that efficient anti-sapelovirus drugs and vaccines could be developed in the future.

Ion beam fabrication of aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer for high-performance liquid crystals alignment.

In this paper, a 1.8 keV ion beam (IB) sputtered thin layer of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) with columnar AZO bumps covering the surface working as an alignment layer for the homogeneous alignment of liquid crystals (LC) is investigated. Bumpy AZO alignment layers in twisted nematic (TN) cells generated larger LC pre-tilt angles and thus enabled accelerated switching of LC, and the highly conductive bumpy AZO thin layers allowed super-fast release of accumulated charges, and led to low residual DC performance. These results indicate the promising applications of AZO bumps layer as alignment layer in LC devices.

Tailoring the Orientation and Periodicity of Wrinkles Using Ion-Beam Bombardment.

The present study demonstrates that surface reformation in polydimethylsiloxane can be controlled using ion-beam (IB) irradiation. This can be done by simply varying the IB incidence angle and requires no change in the energy source. By controlling the incidence angle of IB irradiation, we were able to continuously control the pattern of the wrinkle structure, that is, a randomly formed pattern or an anisotropic one. Moreover, the directional characteristics of the wrinkle pattern control the alignment of liquid crystal molecules. This control is a function of the incidence angle of the IB. These simple methods can provide considerable flexibility in the fabrication of wrinkle structures.

Effects of Rice Bran, Flax Seed, and Sunflower Seed on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Fatty Acid Composition, Free Amino Acid and Peptide Contents, and Sensory Evaluations of Native Korean Cattle (Hanwoo).

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with rice bran, flax seed, or sunflower seed to finishing native Korean cattle (Hanwoo) on growth performances, carcass characteristics, fatty acid composition, free amino acid and peptide contents, and sensory evaluations of Longissimus muscle (LM). A total of 39 Hanwoo steers (average age of 22.2 mo and average body weight (BW) of 552.2 kg) were randomly divided into Control, rice bran (RB), flax seed (FS), or Sunflower seed (SS) groups. The steers were group fed for 273 d until they reached an average age of 31.2 mo. Final BW was 768.2, 785.8, 786.2, and 789.0 kg, and average daily gain was 0.79, 0.85, 0.82, and 0.84 kg for the Control, RS, FS, and SS groups, respectively (p>0.05). Fat thickness of the FS group (19.8 mm) was greater (p<0.05) than that of the other groups. Final yield grade converted into numerical values was 2.0 for the RB group, 1.7 for the Control and SS groups, and 1.4 for the FS group. Marbling degrees for the Control, SS, RB, and FS groups were 5.3, 5.1, 4.7, and 4.6, respectively. Percentages of palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), and arachidic acid (C20:0) in the LM were not different among the groups. Palmitoleic (C16:1) acid was higher (p<0.05) in the SS group. The concentration of oleic acid was highest (p<0.05) in the Control group (47.73%). The level of linolenic acid (C18:3) was 2.3 times higher (p<0.05) in the FS group compared to the other groups. Methionine concentration was (p<0.05) higher in FS (1.7 mg/100 g) and SS (1.2 mg/100 g) steers than in the Control or RB groups. Glutamic acid and α-aminoadipic acid (α-AAA) contents were (p<0.05) higher in the FS group compared to the other groups. LM from the FS group had numerically higher (p>0.05) scores for flavor, umami, and overall palatability in sensory evaluations. In conclusion, supplementation of flax seed to diets of finishing Hanwoo steers improved sensory evaluations which might have been caused by increases in flavor related amino acids such as methionine, glutamic acid and α-AAA and peptides, anserine and carnosine, and their complex reactions.

Homogeneous liquid crystal alignment characteristics on solution-derived HfYGaO films treated with IB irradiation.

Solution-derived HfYGaO films have been treated by ion beam (IB) irradiation and used as liquid crystal (LC) alignment layers. Solution processing was adopted due to its simplicity, high throughput, and facile composition modification. Homogeneous and uniform LC alignment was achieved on the IB-irradiated HfYGaO films, and when these films were adopted in twisted nematic (TN) cells, electro-optical performance comparable to that of TN cells with conventional polyimide layers was achieved, with almost no capacitance-voltage hysteresis. Moreover, LC cells based on IB-irradiated HfYGaO films had a high thermal budget. The proposed IB-irradiated solution-derived HfYGaO films have considerable potential for use in advanced LC applications.

Electro-optical switching of liquid crystals sandwiched between ion-beam-spurted graphene quantum dots-doped PEDOT:PSS composite layers.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-doped PEDOT: PSS composite layers were utilized to align liquid crystals (LCs) via an ion-beam (IB)-spurting pre-treatment process. LCs were homogeneously aligned between sandwiched GQDs/ PEDOT: PSS composite thin layers, and the alignment of LCs was found to be affected by both the quantity of doped GQDs and IB-spurting intensity. Competitive electro-optical switching properties and non-residual DC performance of the cell equipped with GQDs/ PEDOT: PSS composite alignment layers were obtained because of the enhanced field effect and charge transport induced by doped GQDs. Notably, using IB-spurted GQDs/ PEDOT: PSS layers as alignment layers for next generation high-performance liquid crystal display (LCD) is promising.

Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on masticatory muscles in elderly stroke patients.

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on masticatory muscle activation in elderly stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects included 20 elderly patients diagnosed with stroke and 10 healthy elderly individuals. The neuromuscular electrical stimulation group received stimulation on the masseter muscle in the affected side for 30 min each day, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. In all the subjects, surface electromyography was used to measure activity of the masseter and temporal muscles in both sides under resting and clenching conditions. [Results] In the neuromuscular electrical stimulation group, after the intervention, an increase in the activity of all of the masticatory muscles was observed during clenching, with a significant increase in the activity of the masseter muscle in the affected side. Significant differences between the groups were not observed after the interventions. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that application of neuromuscular electrical stimulation effectively improves muscle activity in elderly stroke patients during clenching, and that this technique can be applied particularly for the improvement of the clenching activity of the masseter muscle in the affected side.

Different virulence of porcine and porcine-like bovine rotavirus strains with genetically nearly identical genomes in piglets and calves.

Direct interspecies transmissions of group A rotaviruses (RVA) have been reported under natural conditions. However, the pathogenicity of RVA has never been directly compared in homologous and heterologous hosts. The bovine RVA/Cow-tc/KOR/K5/2004/G5P[7] strain, which was shown to possess a typical porcine-like genotype constellation similar to that of the G5P[7] prototype RVA/Pig-tc/USA/OSU/1977/G5P9[7] strain, was examined for its pathogenicity and compared with the porcine G5P[7] RVA/Pig-tc/KOR/K71/2006/G5P[7] strain possessing the same genotype constellation. The bovine K5 strain induced diarrhea and histopathological changes in the small intestine of piglets and calves, whereas the porcine K71 strain caused diarrhea and histopathological changes in the small intestine of piglets, but not in calves. Furthermore, the bovine K5 strain showed extra-intestinal tropisms in both piglets and calves, whereas the porcine K71 strain had extra-intestinal tropisms in piglets, but not in calves. Therefore, we performed comparative genomic analysis of the K71 and K5 RVA strains to determine whether specific mutations could be associated with these distinct clinical and pathological phenotypes. Full-length sequencing analyses for the 11 genomic segments for K71 and K5 revealed that these strains were genetically nearly identical to each other. Two nucleotide mutations were found in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of NSP5 and the 3' UTR of NSP3, and eight amino acid mutations in VP1-VP4 and NSP2. Some of these mutations may be critical molecular determinants for RVA virulence and/or pathogenicity.