We have mapped the W 3 giant molecular cloud in the C0 3P1-3 Po ([CI]) line with the Mount Fuji Submillimeter-wave Telescope. The [CI] emission is extended over the molecular cloud, having peaks at three star forming clouds; W 3(Main), W 3(OH), and AFGL 333. The [CI] emission is found to be strong in the AFGL 333 cloud. We have also observed the C18O, CCS, N2H+, and H13CO+ lines by using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope. In the AFGL 333 cloud, we find two massive cores, which are highly gravitationally bound and have no sign of active star formation. The high [Co]/[CO] and [CCS]/[N2H+] abundance ratios suggest that the AFGL 333 cloud is younger than the W 3(Main) and W 3(OH) clouds.

We present results of the velocity-resolved spectroscopy of the [Fe II] ⋋1.644 μm emission toward outflow sources with the Subaru Telescope at the angular resolution of 0."16 ~ 0."5 arcseconds. The observed sources are L1551 IRS 5, DG Tau, HL Tau and RW Aur, which are located in the Taurus-Aurigae Molecular Cloud, one of the closest star forming regions (0."1 = 14 AU). We were able to resolve outflow structure in the vicinity of the sources at a scale of a few tens of AU. The position-velocity diagram of each object shows two velocity components: the high velocity component (HVC: 200 - 400 km s-l) and the low velocity component (LVC: 50 - 150 km s-l), which are clearly distinct in space and velocity. The HVC may be a highly collimated jet presumed from its narrow velocity width and high velocity. The LVC, on the other hand, may be a widely opened disk wind inferred from its broad velocity width and low velocity. The spectrum taken perpendicular to the L1551 IRS 5 outflow at its base shows that the LVC has a spatially wide subcomponent, supporting the above interpretation. We demonstrated that the [Fe II] 1.644 μm spectroscopy is a very powerful tool for the studies of fast jets and winds that directly emanate from star-disk systems.

A taxonomic survey of the dinoflagellate family Prorocentraceae Stein was conducted on 17 locations off the coast of Korea. This monograph is the result of the microscopic analyses. A total of eight species have been identified and described, of which Pro

We present results of the VLBA observation toward the radio continuum and water maser emissions in a nearby LINER galaxy NGC 1052. The jet structure observed in 2000 is similar to that in 1998, and the two jet structures in 1998 and 2000 support the sub-luminal motion with apparent velocity of 0.26c. Distribution of water maser spots are located ~0.05 pc shifted to southwest from the component which is supported to be the nucleus, and no rapid positional change of the water maser gas with respect to the central engine is seen from 1995 to 2000. The maser gas is positionally coincident with a plasma torus, and the position of the maser gas relative to the nucleus is stable from 1995 to 2000. The maser gas in NGC 1052 could be explained to be associated with the nuclear circumnuclear torus or disk like the situation found in the nucleus of NGC 4258.

We present CO(3-2), CO(2-1), and 230 GHz (1.3 mm) continuum images of nearby galaxies taken with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). Our main topic is to study the relation between higher-J molecular gas (e.g., CO J=3-2, 2-1) and nuclear activities (e.g., active galactic nuclei [AGNs] and starbursts). The nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy M51 shows strong CO(3-2) emission from the circumnuclear molecular gas, with an intensity twice as strong as that of the CO(1-0) emission. Strong CO(3-2) emission enhancement suggests that the circum nuclear molecular gas in M51 is warm and dense, which may be related to the AGN activities. Molecular gas in the nearby moderate starburst galaxy NGC 6946 is distributed along the large-scale bar or spiral arms and along the minibar, and the multi-J CO line images show very similar distribution to each other. For this galaxy, there is no clear enhancement in higher-J lines as seen in M51, which may be because NGC 6946 does not have clear AGN activities. Based on the results of these two galaxies, the physical conditions of the circum nuclear molecular gas may be related to the AGN activities. We also observed the nearby edge-on starburst galaxy NGC 3628 and the starburst/Seyfert composite galaxy NGC 4945 with the CO(2-1) line and 230 GHz (1.3 mm) continuum emission. These information will give us some hints for understanding the relation between nuclear activities and circum nuclear molecular gas and dust.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of EGF on meiotic maturation and pronuclear (PN) formation of porcine oocytes. Prepubertal gilt cumulus-oocyte-complexes (COCs) aspirated from 2~6mm follicles of abbatoir ovaries were matured in TCM199 containing 0.1mg/ml cysteine, 0.5㎍/ml FSH and LH, and EGF (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 ng/ml) for 22 hr at 39℃ in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air. They were then cultured for an additional 22hr without hormones. In Experiment 1, to examine the nuclear maturation at 44hr of culture, the expanded cumulus cells were removed by vortexing for 1 min in 3 mg/ml hyaluronidase. The oocytes were fixed in acetic acid: methanol (1:3, v/v) at least for 48 hr and stained with 1% orcein solution for 5 min. Nuclear status was classified as germinal vesicle (GV), germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), prophase-metaphase I (PI-MI), and PII-MII under microscope. In Experiment 2, to investigate PN formation, oocytes were fertilized with Percoll-treated freshly ejaculated sperm (1 x10 5 cells/ml) in mTBM with 0.3% BSA and 2mM caffeine for 5hr, and cultured in NCSU-23 medium with 0.4% BSA. At 6hr of culture, the embryos were fixed in 3.7% formaldehyde for 48hr and stained with 10ug/ml propidium iodide for 30 min. PN status was classified as no or one PN (unfertilized), 2 PN (normal fertilized) and ≥3 PN (polyspermy). Differences between groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA after arc-sine transformation of the proportional data. The rate of oocytes that had reached to PII-MII were significantly (P<0.05) higher in all groups added EGF than that of non-treated group (67%), but it did not differ among the all added groups (86%, 85%, 79% and 81%, in 5, 10, 20 and 40 ng/ml EGF, respectively). No differences on the incidence of 2PN were observed in all treated groups (25%, 30%, 33%, 29% and 29%, in 0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 ng/ml EGF, respectively), however, in non-treated group, polyspermy tended to be increased (66% vs 58%, 54%, 52% and 55%, 0 vs. 5, 10, 20, 40 ng/ml EGF, respectively). These results suggest that EGF can be effectively used as an additive for enhancing oocyte maturation and reducing the incidence of polyspermy in pig.

This study was conducted to establish the optimal temperature condition before oocyte activation in B6D2 F1 mouse. In experiment 1, two embryo culture media (CZB vs KSOM) were evaluated for the development of activated mouse oocytes. Parthenogenetic embryos cultured in KSOM showed better blastocyst development than ones cultured in CZB(56.2% vs 81.0%, p<0.01). Two-hour of pre-incubation before activation significantly reduced the number of hatched blastocysts in KSOM (22.0% versus 8.8%, p<0.05). In experiment 2, recovered oocytes were pre-incubated at different temperature conditions before activation. The experimental groups were divided by 5 as follows. Group A: pre-incubation for 120 min at 37℃, Group B: pre-incubation at 37℃ for 90 min then at 25℃ for 30 min, Group C: pre-incubation at 37℃ for 60 min then at 25℃ for 60 min, Group D: pre-incubation at 37℃ for 30 min then at 25℃ for 90 min, and Group E: pre-incubation at 25℃ for 120 min before activation. Group A (67.6%) and B (66.7%) showed better development to the blastocyst stage than other groups (Group C: 50.0%, Group D: 49.2%, Group E: 33.3%, p<0.05). The present study indicates that the temperature before activation affects the development of B6D2 F1 mouse parthenogenetic oocytes and exposure to room temperature should be limited to 30-min when the oocytes are left in HEPES-buffered medium for micromanipulation.

In this work, the effects of atmospheric oxygen plasma treatment of carbon fibers on mechanical interfacial properties of carbon fibers-reinforced epoxy matrix composites was studied. The surface properties of the carbon fibers were determined by acid/base values, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Also, the crack resistance properties of the composites were investigated in critical stress intensity factor (KIC), and critical strain energy release rate mode II (GIIC) measurements. As experimental results, FT-IR of the carbon fibers showed that the carboxyl/ester groups (C=O) at 1632 cm-1 and hydroxyl group (O-H) at 3450 cm-1 were observed for the plasma treated carbon fibers, and the treated carbon fibers had the higher O-H peak intensity than that of the untreated ones. The XPS results also indicated that the O1S/C1S ratio of the carbon fiber surfaces treated by the oxygen plasma led to development of oxygen-containing functional groups. The mechanical interfacial properties of the composites, including KIC (critical stress intensity factor) and GIIC (critical strain energy release rate mode II), were also improved for the oxygen plasma-treated carbon fibersreinforced composites. These results could be explained that the oxygen plasma treatment played an important role to increase interfacial adhesions between carbon fibers and epoxy matrix resins in our composite system.

The Submillimeter Array (SMA), a collaborative project of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA), has begun operation on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A total of eight 6-m radio telescopes comprise the array with currently working receiver bands at 230, 345, and 690 GHz. The array will have 8 receiver bands covering the frequency range of 180-900 GHz. The backend is flexible analog-digital correlator with a full bandwidth of 2GHz, which is very powerful to cover several line emissions simultaneously. The current status and future plans of the SMA are described with emphasis on Taiwanese efforts.

Carbon composites were prepared with pitch-based round, C, hollow-type carbon fibers and pitch matrix. The thermal conductivities parallel and perpendicular to the fiber axis were measured by steady-state method. It was found that the thermal conductivities depended on the cross-sectional forms of the reinforcing fibers as well as the reinforcing orientation and carbon fiber precusors. Especially, mesophase pitch-based hollow carbon fiber-carbon composites had the most excellent thermal anisotropy, which was above 100.

Construction of the Virtual Observatory (VO) is a great concern to the astronomical community in the 21st century. We present an outline of the concept and necessity of the va and the current status of various VO projects including the 15 national ones and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). We summarize the possible science cases that could be solved by using the VO data/tools, real science cases which are the results of using current VO tools, and our own work of using AstroGrid, the United Kingdom national VO, for a research on star formation history of galaxies.

The latest scientific highlights obtained with the Subaru telescope are given together with its current status and on-going instrumentation. We have been successfully operating the telescope and 8 observatory instruments (including an adaptive optics system) since January 1999, when the first light was accomplished. Open-use of Subaru began in December 2000. Subaru has a unique capability of its prime focus among other 8-10 meter class telescopes and has an excellent imaging performance as a result of its sophisticated active optics combined with the high stability of the sky at Mauna Kea. Scientific highlights are given on the discoveries of the most distant galaxies, spiral structure on a protoplanetary disk around AB Aur, and planetesimal belts in the debris disk around β Pic. Brief summaries are given for three new instruments: the Multi-Object Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (MOIRCS), 188 element adaptive optics system, and Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS)

The mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (Mes V) contains cell bodies of primary afferent sensory neurons that relay proprioceptive information from the periodontium and masticatory muscles and function as typical sensory neurons or potentially as integrative interneurons. In the present study, we studied these two potential functions using combined experimental approaches of retrograde labeling and whole cell patch clamp recording. Mes V neurons that presumably originate from periodontal nerve fibers in subsets of Mes V nucleus were identified by retrograde labeling with a fluorescent dye, DiI, which was applied onto inferior alveolar nerve. These cells were elliptical perikarya shaped cells about 40μmin diameter. In these neurons, we measured high voltage-activated calcium channel (HVACC) currents GABAв agonist, baclofen, inhibited calcium currents, and the HVACC currents inhibition by baclofen was voltage-dependent, exhibited prepulse facilitation, indicating that it was mediated by Gi/Go protein. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Mes V neurons not only have cell bodies originating from periodontium, but also receive synaptic inputs including GABAergic neurons suggesting that Mes V neurons function as both primary sensory neurons and integrative interneurons.