스리랑카는 채소의 주년 생산에 적합한 기후를 갖고 있는 열대국가이다. 열대, 아열대 채소의 재배면적은 전체 농지(105,062 ha)의 약 3%이다. 지난 50년 동안 스리랑카에서 채소 육종에 관한 체계적인 연구가 이루어졌고 채소 부문은 지속적으로 증가하였다. 하지만 채소 육종, 재배 및 가공과 관련된 기술이 선진국에 비해 많이 뒤떨어져 있는 형편이다. 전통 육종법을 통해 개발된 다양한 농업적 형질을 가진 품종이 현재까지 스리랑카의 채소 생산에 이용되고 있지만 생명공학적 방법을 접목한 채소 품종 육종법의 중요성이 점차로 부각되고 있다. 본 논문은 스리랑카에서 중요한 채소 작물인 토마토, 고추류, 콩류, 가지 및 여주의 육종과 품종 현황을 소개하고 향후 스리랑카 육종 전망에 대해 논의하였다.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) merely depend on improving the oocyte maturation and their developmental competence to produce good quality embryos. Oocyte maturation passes through long and complex molecular steps starts from the early embryonic life and ends with sperm fertilization. Oocyte developmental competence can be attained by improving the nuclear and cytoplasmic mechanisms together with some epigenetic maturation. In this review, we highlight the cornerstones of oocyte maturation on both nuclear and cytoplasmic levels. Interfering or supporting these molecular mechanisms would help in the development of novel regulating agents for reproductive performance of humans and livestock species.

In this paper, we report graphene composite membranes prepared by transfer of a layer of chemical vapor deposition graphene onto porous anodic alumina (AA) substrates with nominal pore size 20 and 30 nm, referred as 20AA and 30AA. The coated and uncoated substrates were characterized using optical and electron microscopy techniques. The bare substrates exhibited a smooth surfaces with a well-organized array of hexagonal pores, displaying an average pore size of 17 ± 3 (20AA) and 23 ± 3 nm (30AA). The scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses confirmed the successful transfer of graphene layer onto the target substrates. The molecular transport study was performed by introducing 0.5 M potassium chloride (KCl) and deionized water in a Side-bi-Side Franz diffusion cell. The graphene/20AA specimen blocked 66% ions transport, and graphene/30AA membrane about 64%. The ions blockage exceeded 90%, near the characteristics of defectfree graphene when the defects of the transferred graphene were sealed with Nylon 6,6. The results of this study suggest the potential use of graphene on AA substrates for water desalination and gas purification applications.

Because of their attractive and colorful flowers, many species from the genus Aster serve as garden plants. Chrysanthemum owes its popularity to its ornamental and medicinal herb value. It can be used as a cut flower, potted plant, vegetable, and herbal tea. Plant breeders have attempted to identify the available species and produce new cultivars to improve the quality of chrysanthemum for commercial purposes. The use of cytogenetic studies has paved the way for identifying compatibility, ancestry, and other useful information for this undertaking. Thus, an investigation was conducted into the chromosome numbers of 23 wild Asteraceae species in Republic of Korea to determine their genetic characteristics and variations. The somatic chromosome spread has been used for chromosome counting. The results revealed that Asteraceae species have a chromosome range from 18 (diploid) to 54 (hexaploid). These findings provide primary and important information on the chromosome numbers in chrysanthemum plants that can be used to select the right variety for cultivation.

Chrysanthemum is a valuable ornamental plant worldwide, and several of its species are used as herbal tea, medicinal plants, and dietary supplements, among others. Commercial cultivars have been developed through interspecific hybridization and artificial selection to improve the characteristics, production quality, and environmental adaptation for enhancing ornamental value. To better understand the recent research in cytogenetic studies of chrysanthemum, we examined studies concerning polyploidy, karyotyping, banding, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, and inter/intraspecific hybridization. Ploidy level is important in genomic characteristics and has a significant value to horticulturists and plant breeders. Studies have reported that flow cytometry analysis and single-dose molecular markers can be used to determine the chrysanthemum ploidy level. As for karyotyping, a better understanding of karyomorphological relationships and evolution of chrysanthemum and its closely related genera has already been gained. Moreover, karyotype parameters in chrysanthemum studies play a critical role in cultivar identification, classification, and genetic analysis. The FISH technique in chrysanthemum research provides more information on chromosome identification, sequences distribution, and evolution for expediting the development and improvement of plant species. The genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) technique can also be used to test hybridization in chrysanthemum breeding. Hence, this review of molecular cytogenetic studies of chrysanthemum will help us to have a better understanding and knowledge of the taxa breeding and the development and improvement of new cultivars.

Fatigue is not a trivial issue and needs much attention. On the other hand, fatigue among seafarers could lead to accidents at sea due to their inability and ineffectiveness in carrying out their work. Some were caused by sleepiness and lack of vigour, which, could not only affect their safety but compromising on other seafarers as well. In this study, factors that cause fatigue among seafarers were examined analytically and their quantitative priorities were determined using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Additionally, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to identify the best alternatives in minimizing fatigue among seafarers. For this, data is collected through interview involving those working in academic and maritime industry with more than 5 years of experiences in dealing with seafarers. The AHP result shows that fitness is the main cause that could affect fatigue on seafarers’ reliability. Besides, TOPSIS result shows that a well-maintained shipboard is the best way in sustaining seafarers’ energy. In sum, fatigue among seafarers could influence on safety and may lead towards precarious health issue over a long-term.

Halal transportations will ensure that the Halal status of the products will be preserved. Halal certification is believed to increase the operation cost for the transport providers, which reflect the price paid by customers who choose to buy products transported by Halal transportation. Hence, it is worthwhile to investigate the willingness of Muslim consumers to pay extra for the Halal transportation cost. The study aims to identify factors influencing Muslim consumers’ attitude towards their willingness to pay for Halal transportation. Using the stimulus-organism-response model, attitude which represents the organism factor will be treated as a mediator for variables representing the stimulus factors and the variable for the response. On the other hand, the study will also examine the effect of knowledge as a moderating factor. The data was collected from Muslim consumers in Kuala Lumpur. Applying the purposive sampling method with a self-administered survey, 202 respondents agreed to participate in the study. The findings revealed that awareness and perceived behavioural control are a stimulus towards attitude, and attitude is a significant organism on willingness to pay. The study also found that attitude mediates the relationship between awareness and perceived behavioural control towards the willingness to pay for Halal transportation. Additionally, the knowledge has a moderating effect of the relationship between attitude and the willingness to pay. The findings of the study are not only beneficial for the Muslim community in Malaysia, but also the Muslims around the world.

The normal feeding approach of goats might be due to their precise anatomical and physiological characteristics of entity, which permit them to be highly selective, to eat legume silages and wild green grass. This review has been designed to consider the grazing behavior, fodder selection, and feed composition of goats. Various herbs and corns consumed by goats have numerous nutritive resources. Based on the general herbaceous intake activities and behavior of goats, they prefer wild grass such as grass grown in the steep hills than soft grass. Because the digestion capacity of cellulose feed has higher digestion level compared to other non-ruminants within rumen and it is advantageous to use wild forest or mountain grass which comprises high proportion of cellulose feed for goat. In South Korea, there are abundant feed resources for goats because of occupying large areas of mountains. Thus, goat production and feeding costs could be reduced if plants are used from the wild forest as a feed for goats relative to grassland grazing. Also, it is expected to contribute in improvement of goat farming with harmonious relationship between the grassland and wild forest while satisfying animal welfare and physiological desires of livestock.