Trissolcus nigripedius Nakagawa and Telenomus gifuensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) are solitary egg parasitoids of Dolycoris baccarum L. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a polyphagous seed-sucking bug of agricultural crops. Field examinations revealed that the two parasitoids are the most common species, but only a single species emerge from a host egg mass. To explain this observation we tested two hypotheses of interspecific host discrimination and asymmetry in competitive interaction between the two parasitoids. When provided with host eggs pre-parasitized by each other, both Tr. nigripedius and Te. gifuensis parasitized 94 and 100% of the host eggs without interspecific host discrimination, respectively. Interestingly, from the multiparasitized eggs irrespective of oviposition sequence, progeny of Te. gifuensis always survive better than Tr. nigripedius. Te. gifuensis is superior in immature competition probably due to shorter egg incubation period, hence progeny of Te. gifuensis become first instar faster than that of Tr. nigripedius. However, adult Tr. nigripedius is always superior competitor in possessing and guarding the host eggs even after oviposition against Te. gifuensis. Therefore, the asymmetry in competitive interaction between Tr. nigripedius and Te. gifuensis may explain the emergence of a single species from a host egg mass in the field in spite of no interspecific host discrimination.

This study was performed to investigate the relationship between PSS-HSP70 gene polymorphism and artificial insemination (AI) reproductivity in the pigs. The RFLP polymorphism of PSS and the SSCP polymorphisms of HSP70 K1, K3 and K4 PCR product were detected different patterns. In the experiment for AI of fresh semen, spring and fall season showed higher litter size born of 10.89 head than 10.47 head of summer season. Landrace was showed higher litter size of 9.96 head than that of Duroc and Yorkshire (p<0.05). Stress relating PSS and HSP70 polymorphism of PSS-Normal, HSP70 K1-BB, K3-AB, K4-AA showd a highest litter size born of 10.97 head and litter size born alive of 10.69 head than that of the other polymorphisms(p<0.05). In the experiment for AI of frozen semen, effects of season and pig breeds were not showed for litter size born. The stress relating polymorphism of PSS-Carrier, HSP70 K1-BB, K3-BB, K4-AB showed highest litter size born of 11.29 head and litter size born alive of 10.82 head and PSS-Normal, HSP70 K1-BB, K3-AB, K4-AA showed the lowest litter size born of 8.48 head and litter size born alive of 7.33 head than that of the other polymorphisms(p<0.05). These results suggest that AI litter size born for the stress of forzen thawed semen may be affected by PSS and HSP70 polymorphism in pigs.

The international cooperation project CIBER (Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment) is a rocket-borne instrument, of which the scientific goal is to measure the cosmic near-infrared extra-galactic background to search for signatures of primordial galaxy formation. CIBER consists of a wide-field two-color camera, a low-resolution absolute spectrometer, and a high-resolution narrow-band imaging spectrometer. Currently, all the subsystems have been built, and the integration, testing, and calibration of the CIBER system are on process for the scheduled launch in June 2008.

From the HCN observations of dense molecular cloud L694-2, Lee et al.(2007) determined internal distributions of density and velocity for the cloud. The density profile collaborates roughly with the Bonnor- Ebert gas sphere, but the velocity field departs significantly from the result of numerical simulations that are started from the BE sphere. Taking L694-2 as an example of collapsing clouds, we have performed a series of collapse simulations and determined initial configurations for the cloud in such a way that the resulting density and velocity profiles both match with the empirically deduced ones. Among many trial configurations the cloud which is initially uniform in density and bound by an expanding envelop depicts most closely the empirically obtained profiles of both density and velocity.