Many advanced ground-based solar telescopes improve the spatial resolution of observation images using an adaptive optics (AO) system. As any AO correction remains only partial, it is necessary to use post-processing image reconstruction techniques such as speckle masking or shift-and-add (SAA) to reconstruct a high-spatial-resolution image from atmospherically degraded solar images. In the New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST), the spatial resolution in solar images is improved by frame selection and SAA. In order to overcome the burden of massive speckle data processing, we investigate the possibility of using the speckle reconstruction program in a real-time application at the telescope site. The code has been written in the C programming language and optimized for parallel processing in a multi-processor environment. We analyze the scalability of the code to identify possible bottlenecks, and we conclude that the presented code is capable of being run in real-time reconstruction applications at NVST and future large aperture solar telescopes if care is taken that the multi-processor environment has low latencies between the computation nodes.

Conservation biological control (CBC) is one of the pest management tactics based on protecting and maintaining natural enemies that already exist in the crop environment. Among many appropriate practices to control pests, CBC has been considered as a sustainable means and a less expensive alternatives to chemicals. It contains an introduction of non-crop plants as shelter habitat for providing natural enemies with food sources, overwintering or refuges shelters. As a small scale experiment of CBC, we tried to intercrop six kinds of floral plants (buckwheat, red clover, Agastache rugosa, Chrysanthemum indicum, Allium tuberosum, Lythrum anceps) with napa cabbage in order to attract some natural enemies, especially parasitic wasps that could be fed on them in the cabbage fields, which is a novel way for conservation of natural enemies, but none showed significant result. For the development of integrated pest management system by harmonizing biological and chemical control, we carried out evaluating toxicity of 30 pesticides to parasitoids and investigating effectiveness of traps. With leaf dipping method for adult and body dipping method for cocoons, 12 pesticides showed under 30% of toxicity being selected as safer by IOBC. Using sex-pheromone traps for attracting lepidopteran pests showed that DBM, CAW and CL occurred less than untreated fields; 67.5%, 70.6% and 44.0%, respectively. Also, yellow sticky traps could reduce some pests; 52% for flea beetle, 62% for cabbage sawfly and 41% for Phaedon brassicae. These results are expected to give basic information to develop conservation biological control of DBM with indigenous parasitoids in the cabbage fields on a large scale in the future. Before developing and distributing a promising pest control method, we should consider whether it can be compatible with other agricultural practices or various situations around fields.

Leptotrombidium pallidum and Leptotrombidium scutellare are the major vector mites for Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of scrub typhus. Before these organisms can be subjected to whole-genome sequencing, the genome sizes of L. pallidum and L. scutellare were estimated by a method based on quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, k-mer analysis of the genome sequences obtained from Illumina sequencing was conducted to verify the mutual compatibility and reliability of results. The genome sizes estimated by qPCR were 191.3±7 Mb for L. pallidum and 262.1±13 Mb for L. scutellare. The estimated genome sizes based on k-mer analysis were 175.5 Mb for L. pallidum and 286.6 Mb for L. scutellare. The estimates from two independent methods were mutually complementary and in a similar range to those of other Acariform mites. The relatively small genome size would facilitate genome analysis, which could contribute to understanding Arachnida genome evolution and mite vector competence and provide key information for scrub typhus prevention.

This study was carried out to know some regional gene difference in carabid beetle, Coptolabrus jankowskii. There are eight subspecies in this species from Korea and it was too difficult to identify by morphological similarity. The mitochondrial ND5 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5) gene of Coptolabrus jankowskii from four regions of (Sangju, Daegu, Mt. Jumbong and Jeju island) was compared. The results showed the differences of the base sequence of total 57 sites and the amino acid variation of the 25 sites. The Neighbor-joining tree and Maximum parsimony tree were established based on sequence data of the ND5. In NJ tree, the Jeju area except Songdangri, and Mt. Jeombong region showed close relationship group. In the case of Maximum parsimony tree, the result divided to three separated group, the first connected group was Jeju Songdangri area and the other the Korean peninsula region except Mt. Jeombong. Others were Jeju area except Songdangri, and Mt. Jeombong region.

Pansies butterflies belong to the genus Junonia are widely distributed throughout Myanmar and 6 species of Junonia have been reported in Myanmar. Molecular comparison of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) nucleotide sequences among the species of Junonia was conducted. The nucleotides divergence of COI sequences between species were 2.9 to 7.9% and sequences identity was 92.5-97.7%. The phylogenetic trees were constructed by using Neighbour-joining (NJ) and Maximum likelihood (ML) methods. In both methods, phylogentic trees were showed identical and were revealed that all sequences of Junonia species from Myanmar were in the same cluster with those of the same species from other countries.

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Glover), is one of the main pests in various vegetable crops due to insecticide resistance in Korea. Some insect pests noticed neonicotinoid insecticide resistance such as Nilaparvata lugens, Bemisia tabaci and Myzus persicae etc. and the major player which contributed for developing the resistance was over-expression of P450, particularly CPY6 family. However, A. gossypii was a unique case that they developed non-P450 dependent resistant mechanism. Previously we reported that two point mutations (RtoT in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, nAChR, beta 1 subunit and RtoT with LtoS in a transcript variant) contribute to develop the imidacolprid resistance in A. gossypii. Moreover we surveyed the mutation(s) in various local field populations. Based on the 3D modeling, we hypothesize that RtoT mutation can reduce the imidacloprid sensitivity. A stretch of 33 amino acid was deleted in the N-terminal region of original transcript of nAChR beta 1 subunit that contained RtoT with LtoS mutations in resistant strain. Among the two transcripts, only original transcript differently expressed between imidacloprid susceptible and resistant strain (resistant ratio = 3,800). Six alpha subunit (1∼5, 7) transcript levels were not significantly different between two strains. Therefore mutation and down-regulation of nAChR beta 1 subunit is also associated with imidacloprid resistance in the A. gossypii.

Establishment of rapid resistance level detection system is essential step to adopt the adaptive management for the control of various kinds of resistant pest population. Here, we established acaricides resistance detection methods based on residual contact vial bioassay (RCV) and quantitative sequencing methods (QS), and applied to determine the resistance levels from several populations in two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, which has been considered as major notorious pest in rose cultivation area in worldwide. 12 acaricides were applicable to the RCV among 19 representative acaricides by showing the dose-dependent mortality within 8 hr, suggesting the acaricide suitability for the RCV might be varied by toxicity mechanism in each acaricides. The QS regression was established for 10 point mutations associated with five number of acaricides resistance such as organophosphate, pyrethroid, abamectin, bifenazate and etoxazol. The 95% prediction level was ranged from 10.8±5.4∼92.2±3.2%. The resistance levels were determined by above two detection methods from a total 12 strains. The laboratory-reared populations were revealed high susceptibility with low resistance allele frequencies to some acaricides, suggesting the several acaricides would be chosen for the control of those populations. However, the field-collected populations were exhibited a severe cross resistance with low susceptibility and high resistance allele frequency to almost tested acaricides, suggesting the current acaricides resistance levels are serious in rose cultivation area in Korea. The RCV and QS methods would be useful for the rapid and accurate collection of valuable information associated with acaricide resistance.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) plays a pivotal role in the synaptic transmission in the cholinergic nervous system of most animals, including insects. Most insects possess two AChEs (i.e., AChE1 vs. AChE2), which are encoded by two paralogous loci originated from the duplication that occurred before the radiation of insects. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that the last common ancestor of ace1 and ace2 shared its origin with those of Platyhelminthes. In addition, ace1 lineage showed a lower evolutionary rate (d and dN/dS ratio) compared to ace2 lineage, suggesting that the ace1 lineage has maintained relatively more essential functions following duplication. Furthermore, structural modeling of AChEs revealed that consistent structural alteration in their active-site gorge topology was caused by amino acid substitution, likely leads to functional differentiation between two AChEs. The functional transition of ace in some hymenopteran insects appears to have occurred by only a few mutations resulting in dramatic alteration of AChE activity. Taken together, our findings provide basic information on when the ace duplication occurred and what structural features have been associated with the differentiation of two AChEs during evolution.

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), is an ectoparasitic pest that feeds on humans as well as other mammals. We investigate that point mutations on the voltage-sensitive sodium channel are associated with the resistance to pyrethroids. Two point mutations (V419L and L925I) in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel (VSSC) α-subunit gene have been identified in deltamethrin-resistant bed bugs. L925I, located the intracellular loop between IIS4 and IIS5, has been previously found in a highly pyrethroid-resistant populations of whitefly. V419L, located in the IS6 transmembrane segment, is a novel mutation. To establish a population-based genotyping method as a molecular resistance monitoring tool, a quantitative sequencing (QS) protocol was developed. Frequency prediction equations were generated from the plots by linear regression, and the signal ratios were shown to highly correlate with resistance allele frequencies (r2 > 0.993). In addition to QS, the filter contact vial bioassay (FCVB) method was established and used to determine the baseline susceptibility and resistance of bed bugs to pyrethroids. A pyrethroid-resistant strain showed > 9375- and 6990-fold resistance to deltamethrin and λ-cyhalothrin, respectively. Resistance allele frequencies in different bed bug populations predicted by QS correlated well with the FCVB results, confirming the roles of the two mutations in pyrethroid resistance. Taken together, employment of QS in conjunction with FCVB method should greatly facilitate the detection and monitoring of pyrethroid resistant bed bugs in the field.

Metcalfa pruinosa has been spreading in Korea since 2005, which its first report at Gimhae in Kyeongnam province. It has been harmful to grape and major forest crops by direct sucking and indirect transmitting sooty mold disease causing economical loss. It is necessary to study its tracing route and movement conditions for the further efficient population management and prevention of its re-invasion. A total of 23 haplotype were observed in the analysis of nucleotide polymorphisms on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I from total 124 voucher specimens among five countries. Only two haplotypes were exist in Korea and HAP1 was accorded with its of some European individuals. Moreover, the analysis of FST and AMOVA, the Korean population was relatively nearer with Spanish and Italian population than American populations, suggesting the Korean population might be originated from some European countries. Eight microsatellite loci were developed and characterized to facilitate more delegate population genetic analysis from 468 individual in five countries. The average character of each or overall population was revealed 18 average individual number, six alleles and 0.676 heterozygosity. The genetic distance (FST) was a little bit high among each populations ranged as – 0.010~0.245. In the tracing route analysis, the originating country of Korean population was also shown as migrated from some European countries. The population genetic analysis using genetic markers will be useful to trace the origin of pest and prevent from re-invasion fro efficient pest management.

Neuromedin B (NMB) acts as a growth factor or a morphogen and plays a role in cancer progression. Indeed, the NMB receptor (NMB-R) is overexpressed in different types of tumors. In our current study, we investigated the involvement of NMB-R in the proliferation of oral cancer cells. Human oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and human oral cancer cells, SCC-25 cells were found to be NMB-R-positive. The NMB-R antagonist PD168368 inhibited the proliferation of SCC-25 cells and reduced their colony formation capacity. We also found that PD168368 induced the cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of SCC-25 cells in a dose-/time-dependent manner. Overall, this antitumor activity of PD168368 in human oral cancer cells suggests that NMB-R is a potential target for the future prevention and treatment of human cancers.

Accurate information on the genetic and phenotypic characteristics and diversity of the indigenous Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) is the basis on which their present and future sustainable utilization and conservation should be made. The paper describes the objectives, structure, functionality, content, utility and future prospects of the Country- Domestic Animal Genetic Resources Information System (DAGRIS) of ILRI. This electronic database is designed to cater for the needs of researchers, policy makers, development practitioners, eachers, students and farmers in developing countries for efficient access to available published and grey literature from past and present research results on the origin, distribution, diversity, present use and status of selected Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) of the countries. Development of the country-modules of c-DAGRIS in English and French for Anglophone and Francophone countries is finalized and ready to be used.

Brucellosis is an important bacterial zoonotic infection worldwide responsible for economic losses in livestock industries which represents a considerable and increasing public health burden. The disease is caused by Brucella which possess the ability to invade and replicate within phagocytes and may result to chronic infection, leading to difficulty in medical therapy of the disease. The treatment for brucellosis employs conventional principles that have been applied for a long time and a combination of antibiotics is currently used due to low efficacy of monotherapies. However, vital effects with respect to health and safety are neglected. Nevertheless, the preventive methods and treatments for brucellosis using traditional medicine have not yet been thoroughly studied, hence, alternative therapies such as the use of natural plant extracts as traditional medicine that are safe, efficient and economical should be explored in order to identify candidates that eliminate complications due to brucellosis. Coptis chinensis Franch (Huanglian) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb and its extract has been known to possess strong antibacterial activity. In this study, the antibacterial effects of C. chinensis Franch extracts, and the major components of the herb namely berberine and palmatine, were investigated on B. abortus. The C. chinensis Franch ethanol extracts (CCFE) showed bactericidal effects at 1,000 μg/ml concentration and berberine at 100 μg/ml concentration. However, C. chinensis Franch and its components did not affect invasion and intracellular growth of B. abortus in RAW 264.7 cells. In conclusion, C. chinensis Franch ethanol extracts, water extract and its major components such as berberine and palmatine would be a beneficial antimicrobial agent without affecting phagocytic pathway within macrophages, and further study for the precise mechanisms of antibacterial effect would be necessary.

Medical technologies are gaining in importance because of scientific and technical progress in medicine andthe increasing average lifetime of people. This has opened up a huge market for medical devices, where complex-shapedmetallic parts made from biocompatible materials are in great demand. Today many of these components are alreadybeing manufactured by powder metallurgy technologies. This includes mass production of standard products and alsocustomized components. In this paper some aspects related to metal injection molding of Ti and its alloys as well asmodifications of microstructure and surface finish were discussed. The process chain of additive manufacturing (AM)was described and the current state of the art of AM processes like Selective Laser Melting and electron beam meltingfor medical applications was presented.

A microstructure analysis is carried out to optimize the process parameters of a randomly oriented discrete length hybrid carbon fiberreinforced carbon matrix composite. The com-posite is fabricated by moulding of a slurry into a preform, followed by hot-pressing and carbonization. Heating rates of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1, and 3.3°C/min and pressures of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MPa are applied during hot-pressing. Matrix precursor to reinforcement weight ra-tios of 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 are also considered. A microstructure analysis of the carbon/carbon compacts is performed for each variant. Higher heating rates give bloated compacts whereas low heating rates give bloating-free, finemicrostructure compacts. The compacts fabricated at higher pressure have displayed side oozing of molten pitch and discrete length carbon fibers.The microstructure of the compacts fabricated at low pressure shows a lack of densification.The compacts with low matrix precursor to reinforcement weight ratios have insufficientbonding agent to bind the reinforcement whereas the higher matrix precursor to reinforcement weight ratio results in a plaster-like structure. Based on the microstructure analysis, a heating rate of 0.2°C/min, pressure of 15 MPa, and a matrix precursor to rein-forcement ratio of 50:50 are found to be optimum w.r.t attaining bloating-free densificationand processing time.

This review highlights the current status of Tunisian olive production, challenges facing the sector and opportunities available. Olive, a fruit tree native to Mediterranean countries, is the subject of increased international interest for olive oil production for the global food market. Olive and olive oil production in Tunisia are of great socio-economic importance, with more than 70 millions olive trees including a wide range of cultivars and represents the third important leg in fruit production. Tunisia is the 4th largest producer of olive oil in the world and oil exports represent 40% of the overall value of agronomic exports and 5.5 % of aggregate exports, making it the fifth largest source of foreign currency earnings for the country. However, the actual production of olive oil could be increased by the entire contributors in the sector and by the monitoring by government extension services. Almost 2 out of 3 farmers grow olives in the country. The crop is spread over areas from the northern to the southern regions, where a wide range of edaphon-climatic conditions prevail, from lower semi-arid to arid conditions and receiving annually less than 250 mm of rain-fall (IOOC, 2003). So far, most of the production has been done using traditional techniques and under rainfed conditions. This translates into extremely erratic production levels depending on the year. The major challenges for olive production and for Tunisian producers are to improve fruit and oil quality in order to maintain their competitiveness on the international oil market and to meet consumer demands. The major opportunity available to develop Tunisian olive sector is primarily the improvement of yields, the raising of productivity and oil quality and meet the recent boom in demand for olive oil and table olive around the world.