The New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) is the largest solar telescope in China. When using CCDs for imaging, equal-thickness fringes caused by thin-film interference can occur. Such fringes reduce the quality of NVST data but cannot be removed using standard flat fielding. In this paper, a correction method based on multi-scale decomposition and adaptive partitioning is proposed. The original image is decomposed into several sub-scales by multi-scale decomposition. The region containing fringes is found and divided by an adaptive partitioning method. The interference fringes are then filtered by a frequency-domain Gaussian filter on every partitioned image. Our analysis shows that this method can effectively remove the interference fringes from a solar image while preserving useful information.

The Gwangneung arboretum, affiliated to the Korea Forest Research Institute, was established in 1987 and it became the Korea National Arboretum (KNA) in May 24, 1999. The entomological collection of KNA currently holds a total of 510,365 specimens of 6,849 species including more than 330 type specimens of Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera are deposited. As the results of recent systematic studies by KNA entomologists, 67 new species were described, and 108 species were newly recorded from Korea and other countries. Not only we have conducted taxonomic studies but also have broaden our research boundary to natural enemy surveys for pine wilt disease vectors, plant and insect interaction, and exotic insect species monitoring. In this presentation, we would like to briefly introduce current entomological researches of KNA in the hope of future collaborations with other entomologists.

Insect cuticle or exoskeleton is a complex extracellular matrix formed primarily from structural polysaccharide chitin and protein, and it plays a critical role in protecting them from various environmental stresses and pathogenic infection. Despite of limited composition, insect cuticle has remarkably diverse mechanical properties, ranging from soft and flexible to hard and rigid. My research has been focusing on functional importance of the genes involved in chitin metabolism and cuticle tanning (sclerotization and pigmentation) to comprehensively understand the genetic, enzymatic as well as molecular mechanism underlying differentiation, development and formation of insect cuticular extracellular matrices.

주머니나방과(Psychidae)는 곡식좀나방상과 (Tineoidea)에 속하며 전 세계적으로 241속 1,350종이 분포하는 것으로 보고되어 있다. 이들은 유충시기에 주머니를 만들고 그 속에서 사는 독특한 생활방식과 단순한 암컷의 외부형태 특징 등으로 인해 생태 및 계통학적 연구가 다양하게 시도되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 현재까지 수행된 한국산 주머니나방 과의 분류학적 연구결과를 소개하고 근연분류군에 대해 고찰하고자 한다.

To identify and compare the venom components and expression patterns of some bees/wasps, venom gland-specific transcriptome analyses were conducted for 14 Aculeate bees/wasps. Most of the allergens and pain-producing factors showed extremely high expression levels in social wasps, implying that social wasps have evolved to use venom to defend the colony against intruders. Acid phosphatase and tachykinin, which are known as allergens and neurotoxic peptides, were found with high frequencies in the venom glands of solitary wasps. This suggests that solitary wasps might use their venom for catching and preserving prey. In the venom glands of bumblebees, little or no transcripts of major allergens or pain producing factors were identified, implying that bumblebees venoms are relatively less toxic than those of social or solitary wasps. Taken together, the differential expression patterns of venom genes in some Aculeate bees/wasps implies that bees/wasps have unique groups of highly expressed venom components, which appear to have evolved in response to both ecological and behavioral influences.

The disadvantage of the current Red imported fire ants (RIFA) diagnostic is that it takes at least two days, because it is subjected to PCR amplification and DNA sequence identification process using an arthropod universal mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I prime pair after genomic DNA extraction. In order to overcome this drawback, two RIFA specific genes were confirmed and used to develop techniques for identifying the species using various PCR methods. The conventional PCR method can be confirmed by the presence of amplified DNA, but additional time is required to confirm whether the PCR products are present or not. In contrast, SYBR green Real Time (RT) PCR or TaqMan probe RT PCR method has the advantage of confirming the results immediately after the reaction is completed. The new molecular diagnostic method has the advantage of shortening the time of two days, which is the biggest disadvantage of RIFA molecular diagnostic method, to 3 hours or less.