Using the AKARI mid-infrared all-sky survey catalogue, we are searching for debris disks which are important objects as an observational clue to on-going planetary system formation. Debris disk candidates are selected through a significant excess of the measured flux over the predicted flux for the stellar photospheric emission at 18 μm . The fluxes were originally estimated based on the near-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of central stars constructed from the 2MASS J-, H-, and Ks-band fluxes. However, we found that in many cases the 2MASS photometry has large errors due to saturation in the central part of a star image. Therefore we performed follow-up observations with the IRSF 1.4m near-infrared telescope in South Africa to obtain accurate fluxes in the J-, H-, and Ks-bands. As a result, we have succeeded in improving the SEDs of the central stars. This improvement of the SEDs allows us to make more reliable selection of the candidates.

Spectroscopic studies of extragalactic YSOs have shown a great progress in the last few years. Infrared observations with AKARI made significant contributions to that progress. In this proceeding, we are going to introduce our current research on the infrared observations of ices and dust around embedded YSOs in the Magellanic Clouds.

We performed a spectroscopic survey for cometary volatiles with the Infrared Camera onboard the Japanese infrared satellite AKARI. The observations were carried out in the near-infrared wavelength range in the period from 2008 June to 2010 January. In this paper, we summarize the observations and results of the AKARI survey for the mixing ratios of major volatiles in comets. We derived the 2.5 − 5 μm spectra of 18 comets including both Oort cloud comets and Jupiter-family comets. Prominent emission bands in the observed spectra are the fundamental vibrational bands of water ( H2O ) at 2.7 μm and carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) at 4.3 μm . The fundamental vibrational band of carbon monoxide (CO) at 4.7 μm and the broad emission feature probably related to C-H bearing molecules can also be recognized around the 3.4 − 3.5 μm region in some comets. We detect CO2 in 17 out of 18 comets, and derived gas production rate ratios of CO2 with respect to H2O in 17 comets. We detect a reliable CO emission band only in three of the comets. Our data set provides the largest homogeneous database of CO2 / H2O ratios in comets obtained so far.

An overview of the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) deep multi-wavelength survey covering from X-ray to radio wavelengths is presented. The main science objective of this multi-wavelength project is to unveil the star-formation and AGN activities obscured by dust in the violent epoch of the Universe (z=0.5-2), when the star formation and black-hole evolution activities were much stronger than the present. The NEP deep survey with AKARI/IRC consists of two survey projects: shallow wide (8.2 sq. deg, NEP-Wide) and the deep one (0.6 sq. deg, NEP-Deep). The NEP-Deep provides us with a 15 μm or 18 μm selected sample of several thousands of galaxies, the largest sample ever made at these wavelengths. A continuous filter coverage at mid-IR wavelengths (7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24 μ m ) is unique and vital to diagnose the contribution from starbursts and AGNs in the galaxies at the violent epoch. The recent updates of the ancillary data are also provided: optical/near-IR magnitudes (Subaru, CFHT), X-ray (Chandra), FUV/NUV (GALEX), radio (WSRT, GMRT), optical spectra (Keck/DEIMOS etc.), Subaru/FMOS, Herschel/SPIRE, and JCMT/SCUBA-2.

The interstellar dust grains are formed and supplied to interstellar space from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars or supernova remnants, and become constituents of the star- and planet-formation processes that lead to the next generation of stars. Both a qualitative, and a compositional study of this cycle are essential to understanding the origin of the pre-solar grains, the missing sources of the interstellar material, and the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The AKARI/MIR all-sky survey was performed with two mid-infrared photometric bands centered at 9 and 18 μ m . These data have advantages in detecting carbonaceous and silicate circumstellar dust of AGB stars, and the interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons separately from large grains of amorphous silicate. By using the AKARI/MIR All-Sky point source catalogue, we surveyed C-rich and O-rich AGB stars in our Galaxy, which are the dominant suppliers of carbonaceous and silicate grains, respectively. The C-rich stars are uniformly distributed across the Galactic disk, whereas O-rich stars are concentrated toward the Galactic center, following the metallicity gradient of the interstellar medium, and are presumably affected by the environment of their birth place. We will compare the distributions of the dust suppliers with the distributions of the interstellar grains themselves by using the AKARI/MIR All-Sky diffuse maps. To enable discussions on the faint diffuse interstellar radiation, we are developing an accurate AKARI/MIR All-Sky diffuse map by correcting artifacts such as the ionising radiation effects, scattered light from the moon, and stray light from bright sources.

Far-infrared observations provide crucial data for the investigation and characterisation of the properties of dusty material in the Interstellar Medium (ISM), since most of its energy is emitted between ~ 100 and 200 μm . We present the first all-sky image from a sensitive all-sky survey using the Japanese AKARI satellite, in the wavelength range 50 − 180 μm . Covering > 99% of the sky in four photometric bands with four filters centred at 65 μm , 90 μm , 140 μm , and 160 μ m wavelengths, this achieved spatial resolutions from 1 to 2 arcmin and a detection limit of < 10 MJy s r − 1 , with absolute and relative photometric accuracies of < 20%. All-sky images of the Galactic dust continuum emission enable astronomers to map the large-scale distribution of the diffuse ISM cirrus, to study its thermal dust temperature, emissivity and column density, and to measure the interaction of the Galactic radiation field and embedded objects with the surrounding ISM. In addition to the point source population of stars, protostars, star-forming regions, and galaxies, the high Galactic latitude sky is shown to be covered with a diffuse filamentary-web of dusty emission that traces the potential sites of high latitude star formation. We show that the temperature of dust particles in thermal equilibrium with the ambient interstellar radiation field can be estimated by using 90 μm , 140 μm , and 160 μm data. The FIR AKARI full-sky maps provide a rich new data set within which astronomers can investigate the distribution of interstellar matter throughout our Galaxy, and beyond.

파나마의 농경지는 전체 국토면적 74,340 km2의 약 30%에 해당하는 22,300 km2이다. 파나마 전체인구 3,508천명의 약 25%에 해당하는 사람들이 농촌에 거주하고 있으며, 총 취업인구에서 농업부문이 차지하는 취업자 비중은 17.6%수준이다. 경제발전에 따라 전체 GDP에서 농업부문이 차지하는 비중은1995년 10.5%에서 2010년 4.6%로 감소하고 있으나 농식품수출이 파나마 전체 상품수출에서 차지하는 비중은 75%로 매우 높은 수준이다. 주요 수출 농산물은 멜론, 수박, 바나나, 파인애플 등 열대과일이다. 이들 주요 수출품이 전체 농산물 수출에서 차지하는 비중은 20%이상으로 높은 수준이며, 열대과일 수출의 90%이상이 유럽연합과 북아메리카지역의 소수 국가에 집중되어 수출되고 있다. 또한 파나마의 전략 수출 농산물인 열대과일은 주로 부가가치가 낮은 신선상태로 수출 중으로 연도별 수출도 안정적이지 못한 상황이다. 우선 아시아 신흥시장 등 다른 수출유망 지역과 국가로 수출선이 다변화되지않은 이유는 첫째, 긴 수송거리로 인한 운송비 등 유통비용문제, 둘째, 콜드체인시스템 등 저장유통기술과 표준화 부족으로 인한 고품질 유지의 어려움, 셋째, 달러가치의 상승으로 인한 수출경쟁력 저하, 넷째, 고부가가치 상품개발 미흡과 식품가공산업의 미발달 등이다. 파나마의 기후 등 농업환경을 고려할 때 열대과일은 생산력 증진과 지속적 품질 향상을 통해수출경쟁력 제고가 가능하고 수출산업화가 가능한 분야이다. 하지만 파나마가 이들 품목을 한국, 일본, 중국 등 동북아시아주요 수출시장에 수출하기 위해서는 무엇보다 해외시장 개척을 위한 더 많은 정책적 노력이 필요하다. 특히 파나마 정부가 성공적으로 파나마산 열대과일을 동북아시아 시장에 수출하기 위해서는 이들 대표적인 수출 품목을 안정적으로 해외시장에 수출할 수 있는 수출단지 육성을 적극적으로 고려하고,이들 품목과 단지를 중심으로 해외마케팅이나 수출지원 프로그램을 집중화해 나갈 필요가 있다.

Nanocomposite films were made by a simple solution casting method in which multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were used as dopant materials to enhance the electrical conductivity of chitosan nanocomposite films. The films contained fixed CNT concentrations (5, 8, and 10 wt%) and varying Fe3O4 content. It was determined that a 1:1 ratio of CNT to Fe3O4 provided optimal conductivity according to dopant material loading. X-ray diffraction patterns for the nanocomposite films, were determined to investigate their chemical and phase composition, revealed that nanoparticle agglomeration occurred at high Fe3O4 loadings, which hindered the synergistic effect of the doping materials on the conductivity of the films.

A nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) canister was indigenously developed using active carbon impregnated with ammoniacal salts of copper (II), chromium (VI) and silver (I), and high efficiency particulate aerosol filter media. The NBC canister was evaluated against carbon tetra chloride (CCl4) vapours, which were used as a simulant for persistent chemical warfare agents under dynamic conditions for testing breakthrough times of canisters of gas masks in the National Approval Test of Respirators. The effects of CCl4 concentration, test flow rate, temperature, and relative humidity (RH) on the breakthrough time of the NBC canister against CCl4 vapour were also studied. The impregnated carbon that filled the NBC canister was characterized for surface area and pore volume by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm at liquid nitrogen temperature. The study clearly indicated that the NBC canister provides adequate protection against CCl4 vapours. The breakthrough time decreased with the increase of the CCl4 concentration and flow rate. The variation in temperature and RH did not significantly affect the breakthrough behaviour of the NBC canister at high vapour concentration of CCl4, whereas the breakthrough time of the NBC canister was reduced by an increase of RH at low CCl4 vapour concentration.

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during the somatic cell transfer nuclear (SCNT) procedures may cause the mitochondrial dysfunction and DNA damage, which may result in restricts the reprogramming of SCNT embryos and play a key direct role in apoptosis. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of antioxidant treatment during the SCNT procedures on the inhibition of mitochondria and DNA damages in bovine SCNT embryos. The reconstituted oocytes were treated with antioxidants of 25 μM β-mercaptoethanol (β-ME) or 50 μM vitamin C (Vit. C) during the SCNT procedures. In vitro fertilization (IVF) was performed for controls. Mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential (ΔΨ) were evaluated by staining the embryos with MitoTracker Red or JC-1. Apoptosis was analyzed by Caspase-3 activity assay and TUNEL assay, and DNA fragmentation was measured by comet assay at the zygote stage. Mitochondrial morphology of non-treated SCNT embryos was diffused within cytoplasm without forming clumps, while the IVF embryos and antioxidant treated SCNT embryos were formed clumps. The ΔΨ of β-ME (1.3±0.1, red/green) and Vit. C-treated (1.4±0.2, red/green) SCNT embryos were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of non-treated SCNT embryos (0.9±0.1, red/ green), which similar to that of IVF embryos (1.3±0.1, red/green). Caspase-3 activity was not difference among the groups. TUNEL assay also revealed that little apoptosis was occurred in SCNT embryos as well as IVF embryos regardless of antioxidant treatment. Comet tail lengths of β-ME and Vit. C-treated SCNT embryos (337.8±23.5 μm and 318.7 ±27.0 μm, respectively) were shorter than that of non-treated SCNT embryos (397.4± 21.4 μm) and similar to IVF embryos (323.3±10.6 μm). These results suggest that antioxidant treatment during SCNT procedures can inhibit the mitochondrial and DNA damages of bovine SCNT embryos.

Cryopreservation of canine spermatozoa affords potential exchange of genetic material, and thus may lead to improvement in the breeding management. However, canine spermatozoa undergo many damages such as, cold shock, ice crystal formation, oxidative stress during cryopreservation. In this study used the CASA for investigating the effect of various trehalose concentrations and thawing temperatures on the sperm viability. In addition, the efficacy of the most optimal of the tested cryopreservation protocols in this study was verified by AI as the in vivo test. Also, this study evaluates the variation of frozen- thawed canine spermatozoa during different incubation condition. The addition of trehalose 25 mM was optimal concentration and frozen-thawed semen quality was significantly higher better than control (Glucose) and other concentration groups. In effect of thawing temperature on frozen-thawed sperm movement and intact acrosome evaluations, which result enhance the sperm motility and movement value depending on increase temperature condition at 36, 54 and 72℃. Also, in the effect of different incubation condition on frozen-thawed sperm after thawing at 36℃ for 60 sec, that the results trehalose 25 mM was significantly better (p<0.05) than glucose in general as well as, the post-thawed sperm motility and intact acrosome was reduced depending on increase the incubation time. Especially, incubation at 4 to 8 hour was rapidly depreciation of movement value and the rate of intact acrosome was dropped similar tendency. Thus, incubation 17℃ was better than other incubation groups on sperm motility and acrosome integrity. For the in vivo evaluate of spermatozoa survival and is the most definitive test of sperm function, we performed artificial insemination in estrous bitch. The semen was prepared for intrauterine insemination using the 25 mM trehalose freezing extender and thawing at 36℃, and 2 bitches were inseminated with 1×106 motile spermatozoa by surgical method. The results of AI, the pregnancy rates, mean litter size and oocyte fertilization rate were 16.6% (1/6), and 50% (2/4), respectively. In conclusion, based on the results of these experiments, the effect of addition of trehalose on extender improves the movement and intact acrosome of frozen-thawed semen. In particular, trehalose 25 mM groups was higher than other different concentration group on movement value and acrosome integrity of frozen-thawed sperm. Also, through incubation condition, this study identify the optimal incubation temperature after thawing was 17℃. Furthermore, the information will be contributed to develop the canine ART including AI, IVF and canine ICSI. * This research was supported by iPET (Grants 110056-3), Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of Korea.

In ruminants, Interferon-τ (IFN-τ) has the role of recognizing pregnancy signals produced by the embryo and it may have an important role during the luteolysis. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of IFN-τ on prostaglandin synthesis, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene expression in vitro and secretion of progesterone (P4) in vivo. The epithelial and stromal cells isolated from bovine endometrium were cultured with different doses of IFN-τ (0, 0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg/ml). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, 1.5 IU/ml) was used as a positive control. Prostaglandin E2 and F2α levels in the culture media were analyzed by enzyme immunoassays, and total RNA was extracted from the cells for RT-PCR. P4 concentrations in blood samples were assayed by chemiluminescent immunoassay system. In epithelial cells, COX-2 gene expression was increased in the presence of IFN-τ (p<0.05), but it was not significantly different in all groups of stromal cells except 2 μg/ml IFN-τ group (p<0.05). Although IFN-τ did not affect PGE2 and PGF2α production in epithelial cells, it decreased PGE2 and PGF2α production significantly in stromal cells (p<0.05). In vivo experiment, the P4 concentrations in blood sample was significantly increased after injection of 1 μg/ml IFN-τ. These results indicate that PG production was mediated by COX-2 expression in the stromal cells but it did not affect in the epithelial cells, and suggest that treatment of IFN-τ was to improve the implantation environment of uterine by maintenance of high P4 concentration. * This work was carried out with the support of “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project No. PJ907008)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

ZrN nanoparticles were prepared by an exothermic reduction of ZrCl4 with NaN3 in the presence of NaCl flux in a nitrogen atmosphere. Using a solid-state combustion approach, we have demonstrated that the zirconium nitride nanoparticles synthesis process can be completed in only several minutes compared with a few hours for previous synthesis approaches. The chemistry of the combustion process is not complex and is based on a metathesis reaction between ZrCl4 and NaN3. Because of the low melting and boiling points of the raw materials it was possible to synthesize the ZrN phase at low combustion temperatures. It was shown that the combustion temperature and the size of the particles can be readily controlled by tuning the concentration of the NaCl flux. The results show that an increase in the NaCl concentration (from 2 to 13 M) results in a temperature decrease from 1280 to 750˚C. ZrN nanoparticles have a high surface area (50-70 m2/g), narrow pore size distribution, and nano-particle size between 10 and 30 nm. The activation energy, which can be extracted from the experimental combustion temperature data, is: E = 20 kcal/mol. The method reported here is self-sustaining, rapid, and can be scaled up for a large scale production of a transition metal nitride nanoparticle system (TiN, TaN, HfN, etc.) with suitable halide salts and alkali metal azide.

The demand of energy is increasing around the world due to the high dependency of our society on energy. So the worldwide recognition of the limited supply of fuels has led to a large scale effort in search of alternative energy sources. Biodiesel has been considered as an alternative fuel to the petroleum diesel in compression ignition engines and is receiving more and more attention. Biodiesel can be obtained by the transesterification of methanol with triglycerides, with glycerin as by- product. This paper introduces the transesterification reaction of lard oil with methanol in the presence of hexane as solvent and potassium hydroxides as catalyst. Different from other researches, a new method to analyze the reaction process in this research was developed by starting with the by-product, crude glycerin. This new method was verified and the effects of various parameters such as solvent, molar ratio of methanol to oil (3:1-12:1), catalyst concentration (0.5-4 wt%) on the traneseterification process were investigated. Molar ratio of methanol to oil was optimized and identified to be 8:1, catalyst concentration of 2 wt% with hexane as solvent and at a temperature of 57℃ were found to be optimum for the reactions. Under this condition for 4 hours, the production yield can be 96.95%.

New methods are developed to estimate the effective temperature (Te), surface gravity (log g), and metallicity ([A/H]) simultaneously with the spectral line depth ratios. Using the model atmosphere grids, depth values are calculated for the wavelength range of 4000 A–5600 A for various temperatures, gravities, and metallicities. All possible different combinations of line depth ratios for different pairs of ratios are investigated. A graphical 3D figure is produced with X, Y, and Z axes corresponding to Te, log g, and [A/H], respectively. By reading a cross point of two curves plotted by a connection of three parameters obtained from spectral line depth ratio pairs on each of the three projected planes, Te, log g, and [A/H] are determined simultaneously. In addition, an analytical method is devised based on the similar algorithm developed for the graphical method. Our methods were applied to estimate the fundamental atmospheric parameters of the Sun and Arcturus.

In this work, the silver nanoparticles have been synthesized by electrical explosion of wire in three liquid mediums: deionized water (DIW), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) solutions. Absorption in the UV-visible region of these suspensions was measured in the range of 300-800 nm. A surface plasmon peak was observed at ~400 nm in all suspensions in measured wavelength range. Particle size was analyzed by transmission electron microscope. It showed that the particles had nearly spherical shape in all samples. The average particle sizes prepared in DIW, PVP and SDBS solution were 37, 31 and 27 nm, respectively. Stability of the suspensions was estimated by multiple light scattering method. The presence of PVP and SDBS surfactants in the exploding medium resulted in enhanced stability of the silver suspensions.

The development of embryos reconstructed by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is dependent upon numerous factors. Central to development is the quality and developmental competence of the recipient cytoplast and the type of the donor nucleus. Typically metaphase of the second meiotic division (MII) has become the cytoplast of choice. Production of a cytoplast requires removal of the recipient genetic material, however, it may remove proteins which are essential for development or reduce the levels of cytoplasmic proteins to influence subsequent reprogramming of the donor nucleus. In this study, enucleation at MII did not affect the activities of either MPF or MAPK kinases. Immunocytochemical staining showed that both Cyclin B1 (MPF) and Erk1/2 (MAPK) were associated with the meiotic spindle of AI/TI oocytes with little staining in the cytoplasm, however, at MII association of both proteins with the spindle had reduced and a greater degree of cytoplasmic distribution was observed. The analysis of oocyte proteins removed during enucleation is a difficult approach to the identification of factors which may be depleted in the cytoplast. This is primarily due to the large numbers of aspirated karyoplasts which would be required for the analysis.