Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the leading export greenhouse crops in South Korea. Sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius is one of the major pests on greenhouse pepper. This pest is conventionally managed by synthetic insecticide application, however this management tactic causes the overuse of toxic compounds and the resistance of whiteflies to insecticides. Therefore, the development of environment-friendly natural insecticides is vitally important. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of three newly-screened insecticidal compounds for B. tabaci (Biotype Q) in laboratory. The insecticidal effects of the compounds were assessed with adult B. tabaci using leaf disc arena established in petri dish. Among the three compounds tested, JS408, a plant extract from Perilla sp., showed significant insecticidal effects on B. tabaci in one hour causing 90% mortality. However, JA408 caused phytotoxicity on sweet pepper leaf resulting in browning dead spots. The new plant-extract JA408 has promising potential as natural insecticidal compound for B. tabaci, but further study must resolve the phytotoxicity issue. Moreover, insecticidal effect should be evaluated under field conditions.

Leptotrombidium pallidum is the major vector mites for Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of scrub typhus. To understand the molecular mechanism of L. pallidum, we sequenced the whole genome using Illumina sequencing technology. Totally four genomic libraries with different insert sizes ranging from 280 bp to 8 kb were used to generate 45.1 Gb of genome in the combination of paired-end and mate-pairs sequencing reads. Quality filtering and correction of paired-end reads for very small and/or bad-quality sequences yielded 26.9 Gb of high-quality sequences, which are used to estimate the genome size as 175 Mbusing kmer methods and assembled into a 193.7 Mb genomic sequence scaffolds with N50 length of 92,945 bp. Furthermore, 94% of CEGMA completeness score were obtained from genome scaffold assembly. To facilitate gene annotation, we used a combination of de novo and homology based tools to predict gene models in the chigger mite genome. A combination of evidence-based and de novo approaches predicted 15,842 high-confidence protein-coding genes with an average transcript length of 1,511 bp and 2.4 exons per gene which corresponds to about 12.4% total gene length. Bacterial endosymbiosis are very common in mite species and can range from mutualistic to pathogenic associations. Henceforth, the endosymbionts in L. pallidum were predicted using the NCBI microbial draft genomes and mitochondrial genome. Besides, this L. pallidum draft genome can be used as a significant reference for comparative genomic studies across mite species.

Jabon tree(Anthocephalus cadamba Miq.) is a native and fast growing species in Indonesia that is preferred by the local community because of its good adaptability and economic profitability. However, information on this tree and its appropriate silvicultural practices are still lacking. Therefore, the aims of this study were to (1) document the existing silvicultural practices used by local communities, (2) investigate tree growth performance among different sites, and (3) examine the linkage between silvicultural practices and soil fertility and their effects on stand quality in West Java. The results obtained from interviews indicated that most of the jabon plantations are owned by outsiders from Jakarta or other cities. In addition, there are three types of management: partnership, hiring employees and direct management. There are only a few practitioners with silvicultural training; however, all practitioners have implemented basic silvicultural practices. Jabon plantations in West Java were inventoried and 53 plots were established across 19 sites. This species was introduced into Java in 2008; therefore, tree age ranges from 0.5 to 3.5years. The mean diameter ranges from 2.45 to 14.57cm with a maximum of 29.3cm, and the mean height ranges from 1.29 to 12.62m with a maximum of 18.68m in Situgede. Regression modeling was performed using dominant height, and the Chapman model was selected to generate a site index curve: Hd=10.6982(1-exp(-0.8915t))1.3078, with an R2 value of 0.6513. This model divided the 19sites into three categories, i.e., good, medium and poor. Based on these results, there are 2 good, 11 medium and 6 poor sites. Three DBH-age equations were generated based on site classification. A comparison between good and poor sites suggests that site conditions and soil fertility have more significant effects on the growth of jabon than silvicultural practices such as fertilization and site maintenance.

In a conventional sense, dried-spermatozoa are all dead and motionless due to the lost of their natural ability to penetrate oocytes both in vivo and in vitro. However, their nuclei are completely able to contribute to normal embryonic development even after long-term preservation in a dried state when the dried-spermatozoa are microinjected into the oocytes. In this sense, dried spermatozoa must still be alive. Thus, defining spermatozoa as alive or dead seems rather arbitrary. Several drying method of sperm including freeze-drying, evaporative/convective-drying and heat-drying were represented in this review. Although the drying protocol reported here will need further improvement, the results suggest that it may be possible to store the male genetic resources.

Currently there are two main categories of soft contact lens materials available in the market namely hydrogels and silicone hydrogels. This article provides a summary of the pros and cons of these materials and suggests a new type of material that could be a new direction for material development moving forward. Hydrogel lenses are biocompatible, hydrophilic, comfortable to wear, and have excellent optical properties. However, the oxygen transmissibility (Dk/t) of hydrogel lenses is limited by its water content and the lens thickness. A higher percentage of water will provide greater oxygen transmissibility but high water content materials are also more prone to dehydration. Silicone hydrogels (Si-hys) were first introduced in 1999. Silicone was added to hydrogel to increase the oxygen permeability and eye care professionals had hoped that this material can resolve most of the issues related to contact lens wear. Si-hys have offered multiple times increase in Dk/t over hydrogels, but they have not reduced the incidence of microbial keratitis nor contact lens drop-out rate. In addition, si-hys are not perfect for every patient, they are generally stiffer (with higher modulus) and are more likely to induce ocular complications due to its mechanical properties. Si-hy lenses are also associated with lens surface issues and an increased risk of infiltrative events. The addition of silicone does not seem to be without problems. Si-hy is an important step, but not a big leap and definitely not the only choice for our patients. A new material called Hypergel was developed using the concept of bio-inspiration. Scientists have learnt from the eye and applied three bio-inspired features to make the material works like the eye. Firstly, hypergel has 78% of water content and that matches the water content of the cornea. Secondly, it meets the oxygen level the open eye needs to maintain healthy white eyes. Thirdly, it mimics the lipid layer of the tear film to prevent dehydration. Without the addition of silicone, this material can meet the oxygen need of the open eye and can resist dehydration.

White-backed planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), is known as a long-range migratory pest in Asia. Although exact primary source of S. furcifera in Korea remains unknown. We used twelve microsatellite markers (SSR) to analyze the population genetic structure of the pest. We collected S. furcifera from Asia in 2012 (Korea, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and four different sites of Bangladesh), 2013 (China, Nepal, Thailand, two different sites of Bangladesh, and fifteen different sites of Korea), and 2014 (four different sites of China and ten different sites of Korea). To verify the genetic variance, we used STRUCTURE program to obtain structure analysis of K and K showed in three components in genetic clustering. Result in sample 2012, similar genetic structure showed in Korea and Vietnam. In 2013 and 2014, various genetic structure revealed in different sites of Korea and Asian population genetic structure appeared as on large panmictic population. Furthermore, we tested migration pathway to see the probable source and reciplent populations of first generation migrants in S. furcifera. In 2012, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and four different sites of Bangladesh showed the potential source of S. furcifera. In 2013, we observed S. furcifera in Korea was more likely originated from Nepal and Bangladesh. Various migration pathway showed in fifteen different sites of Korea as panmictic population. Lastly in 2014, the migration pathway indicated that S. furcifera migrates from China to Korea. Seemingly, S. furcifera in Asia display as large panmictic population and more study is acquire to verify the origin source.

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a species complex, including at least 24 biotypes which express different ecological and physiological characteristics. B. tabaci is one of the most serious pests in the horticultural crops in worldwide level. B. tabaci infests over 600 plant species and also indirectly damages plants by the honeydew excretion. Moreover, whiteflies transmit more than 100 plant viruses, especially begomoviruses. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) which infested severely in tomato cultivars is transmitted by the vector insect, B. tabaci. Here, we demonstrated whether gene expression of B. tabaci is regulated by the oral ingestion of dsRNA. Double strand RNA (dsRNA) of heat shock protein 70 gene (hsp70) was produced from cDNA by using the specific primer. Whitefly adults were allowed to ingest sugar solution containing dsRNA for 3 hr in the two-layered parafilm feeding tube. Quantitative realtime PCR showed that whiteflies which ingest hsp70 dsRNA completely knockdown its transcript expression. Whiteflies ingestded dsRNA increased mortality by heat shock but not by cold shock. Further research will focus the role of hsp70 in various environmental stresses against insects.

Noodles have been a part of our diet for a long time. In Asia, white-salted, Cantonese and instant fried types of noodles are widely consumed. White-salted noodles, also called Udon noodles, are consumed as wet or dried form. White-salted noodles are deeply favored in Korea and Japan and more consumption of Cantonese noodles are observed in other Asian countries. The quality attributes of white-salted noodles are predominantly dependant by wheat flour components, such as starch, protein and pigments, as wheat flour, water and salt are main raw materials of white-salted noodles. In several studies, the ratio between amylose and amylopectin is a key determinant of textural properties of white-salted noodles; hardness of white-salted noodles did have a significant (p<0.05) increase when amylose content in wheat flour was increased. The textural properties of white-salted noodles was not affected much by the protein content, especially protein content of flour was in the range of 10% ~ 13%. It seems that starch plays more important role than protein in the textural properties of white-salted noodles. Carotenoids and flavonoids pigment are major contributors of color of white-salted noodles.