Internet has become a crucial factor affecting children’s lives. Accordingly, researchers are paying attention to patterns and predictors of Internet use among children. However, little research exists on the relationship between family functioning and Internet use. In response to this gap, this study examines the association between family functioning and Internet use among school-aged children. As primary analyses, structural equation modeling was employed and gender differences were examined. The findings highlight the importance of family functioning on Internet use among school-aged children. Lower levels of family functioning led to more time using the Internet and was mediated by the purposes of Internet usage. The findings suggest that parental and community efforts to improve family functioning may prevent Internet overuse or misuse among school-aged children. Also, there is a need to consider gender differences regarding Internet use within the context of policy-making.

We determined the complete mitogenome of the oriental mayfly, Ephemera orientalis (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae) and the dragonfly Davidius lunatus (Odonata: Gomphidae). The 16,463-bp long E. orientalis and the 15,912 bp long D. lunatus mitogenome contains gene arrangement and content identical to the most common type found in a diverse insect order. Most individual E. orientalis and D. lunatus mt genes were well within the size found in the respective genes of other insects. The initiation codon for the D. lunatus COI gene was typical as ATA, whereas no typical start codon was found in the start region of E. orientalis COI gene. The A+T-rich regions of both mitogenomes have a few unusual feature. The A+T-rich region of E. orientalis contains a tandem repeat composed of two identical copies of 55 bp long, whereas that of D. lunatus contains a tandem repeat composed of duplicated identical 261-bp copies and one partial copy of the repeat. Also, the A+T-rich region of E. orientalis contains a single sequence and that of D. lunatus contains nine sequences, along with the tandem triplicate sequences, that has the potential to form stem-and-loop structures, flanked by the conserved sequences, “TA(A)TA” at the 5’ end and “G(A)nT’ at the 3’ end. Furthermore, the A+T-rich region of D. lunatus contains two tRNA-like structures, tRNALeu(UUR)-like sequence and tRNATyr-like sequence that have proper anticodon TAA and clover-leaf structure that were previously found in the hymenopteran insects.

Major loci controlling flowering time and maturity of short-day plant soybean, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7 and E8, have been identified in soybean. The gene corresponding to E2 locus is a homolog of Arabidopsis GIGANTEA (AtGI). We identified three GI homologs in soybean and are verifying their roles in day-length dependent flowering. Expression anlysis indicated that GmGIs are ubiquitously expressed at all developmental stages of soybean plants. Diurnal expression of GmGIs fluctuates within light/dark cycles of long-day (LD) and short-day (SD). GmGI2 and GmGI3 have identical expression patterns under both day length conditions with the highest peak at zeitgeber time 8 h (ZT8) under LD and at ZT4 under SD. GmGI1 shows the peak at ZT12 under LD and at ZT8 under SD. All of GmGIs exhibit the earlier peak and the shorter phase under SD than LD. The results indicated that day length affects expressions of GmGIs. Subcellular localization analysis showed that GmGIs are mainly targeted to nucleus, similar to the localization of AtGI. Overexpression of GmGIs in Arabidopsis transgenic plants showed no significant effect on flowering time nor rescue of gi-2 mutant phenotype. The results suggested that GmGIs have different molecular functions in flowering time regulation of short-day plant soybean compared to long-day plant Arabidopsis. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of GmGIs’ functions in soybean flowering time control, we intend to identify target gene of GmGIs and interacting proteins by using yeast two-hybrid assay.

Phosphorus is one of the macronutrients essential for plant growth and development, as well as crop productivity. Many soils around the world are deficient in phosphate (Pi) that plants can utilize. To cope with the stress of Pi starvation, plants have evolved many adaptive strategies, such as changes of root architecture and enhanced Pi acquisition form soil. To understand molecular mechanism underlying Pi starvation stress signaling, we characterized the activation-tagged mutant showing altered responses to Pi deficiency compared to wild type Arabidopsis and named hsp3 (hypersensitive to Pi starvation3). hsp3 mutant exhibits enhanced phosphate transporter activity, resulting in higher Pi content than wild type. However, in root architectural change under Pi starvation, hsp3 shows hyposensitive responses than wild type, such as longer primary root elongation, lower lateral root density. Histochemical analysis using hsp3 mutant expressing auxin-responsive DR5::GUS reporter gene, indicated that auxin allocation from primary to lateral roots under Pi starvation is aborted in hsp3 mutant. Molecular genetic analysis of hsp3 mutant revealed that the mutant phenotype is caused by the lesion in ENHANCED SILENCING PHENOTYPE4 (ESP4) gene whose function is proposed in mRNA 3’ end processing. Here, we propose that mRNA processing plays a crucial role in Pi homeostasis in Arabidopsis.

“Sangbeak” (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton), is a cultivar for leaf vegetable, from a cross between YPL5 (Ipdeulkkae1/ YCPL187) and “Namcheon” at the National Yeongnam Agricultural Experiment Station (NYAES), RDA, in 2003. The size of fully grown leaf is a important trait in delayed harvesting. The maximum leaf size of “Sangbeak” is 18.5cm, smaller than 21.4cm of a check cultivar, “Ipdeulkkae”1, leading to the constant leaf quality in delayed harvest. The fresh leaf yield of “Sangbeak” is 6% higher than that of “Ipdeulkkae 1” (5029 vs. 4742 kg/10a). For the leaf production, “Sangbeak” could be grown in whole area of South Korea. However, because of its late maturity, seed production culture is available in South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces.

Rye genome- and chromosome-specific DNA markers were selected to easily identify the existence of rye chromatin in the wheat genome by RAPD analysis. Among 260 decamer primers used, five primers, namely, OPC01, OPF07, OPF11, OPH09, and OPH16 amplified rye