Tin dioxide nanoparticles are prepared using a newly developed synthesis method of plasma-assisted electrolysis. A high voltage is applied to the tin metal plate to apply a high pressure and temperature to the synthesized oxide layer on the metal surface, producing nanoparticles in a low concentration of sulfuric acid. The particle size, morphology, and size distribution is controlled by the concentration of electrolytes and frequency of the power supply. The as-prepared powder of tin dioxide nanoparticles is used to fabricate a gas sensor to investigate the potential application. The particle-based gas sensor exhibits a short response and recovery time. There is sensitivity to the reduction gas for the gas flowing at rates of 50, 250, and 500 ppm of H2S gas.

The confused taxonomy of the east Palaearctic pear psyllids, serious pests on cultivated pear, is reviewed. Fifty-sixnominal species have been reported from Pyrus, 25 of which we consider valid and ten as not being associated withPyrus. Our taxonomic revision suggests that, in Korea, four Cacopsylla species develop on pear. Three species occuralso in Japan. New synonyms are suggested and seasonal dimorphism are critically discussed.Key words : Psyllidae, Cacopsylla, taxonomy, host plant, Pyrus, Rosaceae, Manchrian pear, Asian pear, European pear, China,Japan, South Korea, Russian Far East

The spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is classified exotic quarantine pest in Australia and EU, soSWD-free must be supported by evidence of surveys and phytosanitary measures in exported host agricultural commoditiesin Korea. From a quarantine control point of view, SWD is importantly considered as model insect pest for exotic fruitflies (Bactrocera dorsalis) in Korea as well because of similarity in ecological cycles. In evaluations of ethyl formate(EF) only and combined cold treatment to kill eggs and larvae of SWD, the combined EF fumigation applied at LCt50%(50% killed lethal concentration X time) and cold treatement (5℃) for > 5 days showed the promise to new conceptfor eradicating quarantine pest and these could be helpful to pre-develop exotic fruit fly management in Korea.

Bemisia tabaci is a species complex consisting of at least 40 species which are morphologically indistinguishable. Althoughgenetic diversity of B. tabaci have been studied in many countries, its information is lack in Bangladesh. The COI sequencewas determined from 91 samples collected in Bangladesh and the phylogenetic relationship was constructed. Four crypticspecies (Asia I, Asia II-1, Asia II-5 and Asia II-10) were present in different regions. While both Asia I and Asia II-1was widely distributed in all around the country, Asia II-5 was central and southern regions, and Asia II-10 was onlyin the central region. Otherwise, our results showed that Asia II-5 had the highest haplotype and nucleotide diversity.Genetic groups of B. tabaci in Bangladesh were most similar with those of Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, China, and Indiabut did not show any aggressive cryptic species such as MED and MEAM-1.

The sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci is one of the most serious pests in the greenhouse. They can infest variouscrop plants even in high warm greenhouse condition in summer. To understand the effect of heat acclimation ability ofB. tabaci, mortality was determined at various temperature conditions of the greenhouse. Adult whiteflies survived evenin 63°C in tomato greenhouse. The median lethal temperature (LT50) of the greenhouse colony was 59.9°C however LT50of the lab colony was 47.6°C. The relative expression level of heat shock proteins (hsp23, hsp70 and hsp90) were significantlylower in the greenhouse colony compare to the lab colony. This result suggests B. tabaci has very high thermal adaptability(acclimation) and its mechanism is associated with heat shock protein system.

Oyster mushrooms are popular and physiologically beneficial to human health. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of oyster mushrooms such as Pleurotus ostreatus, P. pulmonarius, and P. citrinopileatus on high cholesterol fed rats. Five-week old female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three groups of 8 rats each. Feeding a diet containing a 5% fruiting body powder of Pleurotus species to high cholesterol fed rats reduced plasma total cholesterol (TG), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Feeding each oyster mushroom also significantly reduced body weight in high cholesterol fed rats. However, it had no adverse effects on plasma albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, glucose, total protein or enzyme profiles such as glutamate oxalate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) which are related to kidney function. Feeding each mushroom increased total lipid and cholesterol excretion in feces. A histological study of hepatic cells by conventional red O staining showed normal findings in mushroom-fed hyperlipidemic rats. These results suggested that diet supplementation of 5% fruiting body power of Pleurotus species provided health benefits by acting on the atherogenic lipid profile in high cholesterol fed rats.

Drought is one of the detrimental factors that impair plant growth and productivity. In this study, we applied annealing control primer (ACP)-based reverse transcriptase PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in maize leaves in response to drought stress. Two-week-old maize seedlings were exposed to drought (DT) by suspending water supply. DEGs were screened after 3 days of DT-treated samples using the ACP-based technique. Several DEGs encoding 16.9 protein, antimicrobial protein, hypothetical protein NCLIV_068840, thioredoxin M-type were identified in maize leaves under drought stress. These genes have putative functions in plant defense response, growth and development. These identified genes would be useful for predictive markers of plant defense, and growth responses under drought stress in plants.

Arabidopsis nucleoside diphosphate kinase 2 (AtNDPK2) is an upstream signaling molecule that has been shown to induce stress tolerance in plants. In this study, the AtNDPK2 gene, under the control of a stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter, was introduced into the genome of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plants. The induction of the transgene expression mediated by methyl viologen (MV) and NaCl treatments were confirmed by RT-PCR and northern blot analysis, respectively. Under salt stress treatment, the transgenic tall fescue plants (SN) exhibited lower level of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation accumulations than the non-transgenic (NT) plants. The transgenic tall fescue plants also showed higher level of NDPK enzyme activity compared to NT plants. The SN plants were survived at 300 mM NaCl treatment, whereas the NT plants were severely affected. These results indicate that stress-inducible overexpression of AtNDPK2 might efficiently confer the salt stress tolerance in tall fescue plants.