Insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles, have a significant impact on biodiversity, ecology, and the economy by consuming various plant tissues like leaves, stems, and fruits, leading to issues such as holes, defoliation, and impaired growth. Consequently, our study's primary goal was to establish a model system capable of identifying and tracking insects, covering aspects like their behaviors, movements, sizes, and patterns. Our research has successfully produced a 3D monitoring system specifically designed for continuous insect tracking by applying it to brown planthopper. This technology allows for in-depth exploration of insect behaviors and their interactions with plants and crops. The potential applications of this technique are highly promising, offering valuable assistance to researchers in unraveling insect behavior and ecological dynamics and driving further advancements in these crucial research areas.

Botanical extracts are employed in management of aphids. Extracts from Tanacetum cineariaiaefolium, Derris elliptica, and Sophora flavescens are widely used to control various insects. In this study, we determined concentrations of active insecticidal compounds (Ais) in commercial botanical extracts of these plants, and we investigated the time and concentration for lethal results with the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. The concentrations of Ais, pyrethrins from T. cineariaiaefolium, rotenone from D. elliptica, and matrine and oxymatrine from S. flavescens, were determined after their fractionation by liquid chromatography followed by mass analysis and comparison with standard compounds. The extracts were tested for lethality in a bioassay with green peach aphids. Sprays at defined doses were applied to tobacco leaves infested with aphid nymphs. The lethal concentrations (LC50) were 20.4 ppm for pyrethrins, 34.1 ppm for rotenone, and 29.6 ppm for matrine at 48 h after treatments. At 100 ppm application levels, the lethal time LT50 was 13.4 h for pyrethrin, 15.1 h for rotenone, and 14.4 h for matrine. Kaplan - Meier analysis indicated the lethal times for the three botanical extracts at 100 ppm were significantly faster than application of a chemical insecticide, Sulfoxaflor, applied at the recommended level. These results provide baselines to develop and formulate single or mixed preparations containing botanical extracts to control green peach aphids on commercial crops.

In 2020, severe defoliation was reported in Abies holophylla plantations located in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do. This damage was attributed to an outbreak of an unidentified sawfly species from the genus Cephalcia (Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae). The larvae of this sawfly caused significant defoliation of the leaves. This pest has been identified as Cephalcia koreana Park & Jung, sp. nov., described as a new species in 2023. To investigate the occurrence pattern and density of C. koreana, we set up emergence traps and analyzed samples from affected branches. Our results showed that the density peaks for adults, eggs, and larvae were in mid-May, late May, and early June of 2021, respectively. However, their density decreased sharply after a notably cold spring period in 2022. Here, I aim to discuss the outbreaks of insect pests and their population dynamics.

The Crab nebula is widely used as a polarization angle calibrator for single-dish radio observations because of its brightness, high degree of linear polarization, and well-known polarization angle over a wide frequency range. However, the Crab nebula cannot be directly used as a polarization angle calibrator for single-dish observations with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN), because the beam size of the telescopes is smaller than the size of the nebula. To determine the polarization angle of the Crab nebula as seen by KVN, we use 3C 286, a compact polarized extragalactic radio source whose polarization angle is well-known, as a reference target. We observed both the Crab nebula and 3C 286 with the KVN from 2017 to 2021 and find that the polarization angles at the total intensity peak of the Crab nebula (equatorial coordinates (J2000) R.A. = 05h34m32.3804s and Dec = 22◦00′44.0982′′) are 154.2◦ ±0.3◦, 151.0◦ ±0.2◦, 150.0◦ ±1.0◦, and 151.3◦ ±1.1◦ at 22, 43, 86, and 94 GHz, respectively. We also find that the polarization angles at the pulsar position (RA = 05h34m31.971s and Dec = 22◦00′52.06′′) are 154.4◦ ±0.4◦, 150.7◦ ±0.4◦, and 149.0◦ ± 1.0◦ for the KVN at 22, 43, and 86 GHz. At 129 GHz, we suggest to use the values 149.0◦ ± 1.6◦ at the total intensity peak and 150.2◦ ± 2.0◦ at the pulsar position obtained with the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter Telescope. Based on our study, both positions within the Crab nebula can be used as polarization angle calibrators for the KVN single-dish observations.

프리지아 ‘Sunny Gold’는 농촌진흥청 국립원예특작과학원 에서 2010년 노랑색 반겹꽃 프리지아 육성계통 ‘036010’을 모본으로 진노란색 홑꽃 ‘Golden Flame’을 부본으로 교배하여 획득한 종자로부터 2011년 진노란색 겹꽃의 향기가 강한 프리지아 계통을 선발하여 품종화 하였다. 2011년부터 2016년까지 개화 생육특성검을 수행하였으며 핵심수요자의 기호도 평가를 통해 선발되어 2017년 ‘Sunny Gold’ 로 명명되었다. ‘Sunny Gold’는 RHS color chart YO17B의 노란색 겹꽃 프리지아 품종으로 화폭은 6.7cm로 대조품종 ‘Golden Flame’ 6.1cm에 비해 크고, 분지수는 6.5로 다수확성 품종이다. 초장이 101.9cm로 초세가 강하다. ‘Sunny Gold’의 소화수 및 소화장은 각각 13.0개, 9.3cm이며 개화소요일수는 137.7일이다. 이 품종의 절화수명은 약 9일이며 자구번식력은 5.3배로 대조 품종 ‘Golden Flame’ 4.3배에 비해 우수하다. 전자코를 이용한 PCA분석결과 PC1과 PC2는 각각 99.3%와 0.6%로 전체 변이량의 99.9%를 반영하고 있다. Rader plot 분석결과 총 6개 센서에서 모두 ‘Sunny Gold’의 센서값이 향기가 강한 상용품종 ‘Yvonne’의 값에 비해 높게 나타나 ‘Sunny Gold’의 향기가 더 강한 것으로 나타났다.

Objective: Limited evidence exists concerning whether combined pharmacotherapy is more effective than monotherapy for increased smoking abstinence and post-cessation weight gain prevention. This research investigated the effect of combined pharmacotherapy on smoking abstinence and post-cessation weight change. Methods: A meta-analytic review of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) published between January 1990 and July 2016 was conducted across PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Aggregate fixed effects were estimated for continuous abstinence and mean post-cessation weight change. Keyword search terms included: “smoking cessation,” “naltrexone”, “varenicline”, and “bupropion”. Results: Eight RCTs with 2,513 participants were included. Aggregate fixed effect estimates revealed an increase in continuous smoking abstinence (OR = 1.81, p < .001) and mean decrease in post-cessation weight change (-.15 kg, p = .001). Decreased weight change was observed at 6-8 weeks follow-up (-.14 kg, p = .02). Increased mean weight change was observed among varenicline plus nicotine patch abstainers (.21 kg, p = .01), whereas bupropion plus NRT pharmacotherapies showed decreased mean weight change (-.15 kg, p = .01). Conclusion: Combination pharmacotherapy generates increased smoking abstinence and small short-term post-cessation weight change among abstainers, particularly among bupropion plus NRT when compared against varenicline plus nicotine patch.