Forecasting port container throughput is crucial due to its impact on economic development. Socio-economic factors, which introduce uncertainty, are increasingly integrated into throughput forecasting. The complexity of common multivariate forecasting models significantly affects accuracy, yet few studies compare their performance on the same time series for throughput modeling. This study implements, evaluates, and compares the performance of eight multivariate forecasting models for port throughput within a proposed multiple-input single-output (MISO) system, chosen for their frequent use in container throughput research. It investigates two data preprocessing approaches: Random Forest Variable Importance Method (RF-VIM) and a Multi Lagged Value approach. The comparison uses six error metrics: normalized root mean squared error, mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error, mean error, and root mean percentage error. Performances are discussed, and recommendations for adopting a suitable model are provided.

증산은 적정 관수 관리에 중요한 역할을 하므로 수분 스트레스에 취약한 토마토와 같은 작물의 관개 수요에 대한 지식이 필요하다. 관수량을 결정하는 한 가지 방법은 증산량을 측정하는 것인데, 이는 환경이나 생육 수준의 영향을 받는다. 본 연구는 분단위 데이터를 통해 수학적 모델과 딥러닝 모델을 활용하여 토마토의 증발량을 추정하 고 적합한 모델을 찾는 것을 목표로 한다. 라이시미터 데이터는 1분 간격으로 배지무게 변화를 측정함으로써 증산 량을 직접 측정했다. 피어슨 상관관계는 관찰된 환경 변수가 작물 증산과 유의미한 상관관계가 있음을 보여주었다. 온실온도와 태양복사는 증산량과 양의 상관관계를 보인 반면, 상대습도는 음의 상관관계를 보였다. 다중 선형 회귀 (MLR), 다항 회귀 모델, 인공 신경망(ANN), Long short-term memory(LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit(GRU) 모델을 구 축하고 정확도를 비교했다. 모든 모델은 테스트 데이터 세트에서 0.770－0.948 범위의 R2 값과 0.495mm/min－ 1.038mm/min의 RMSE로 증산을 잠재적으로 추정하였다. 딥러닝 모델은 수학적 모델보다 성능이 뛰어났다. GRU 는 0.948의 R2 및 0.495mm/min의 RMSE로 테스트 데이터에서 최고의 성능을 보여주었다. LSTM과 ANN은 R2 값이 각각 0.946과 0.944, RMSE가 각각 0.504m/min과 0.511로 그 뒤를 이었다. GRU 모델은 단기 예측에서 우수한 성능 을 보였고 LSTM은 장기 예측에서 우수한 성능을 보였지만 대규모 데이터 셋을 사용한 추가 검증이 필요하다. FAO56 Penman-Monteith(PM) 방정식과 비교하여 PM은 MLR 및 다항식 모델 2차 및 3차보다 RMSE가 0.598mm/min으로 낮지만 분단위 증산의 변동성을 포착하는 데 있어 모든 모델 중에서 가장 성능이 낮다. 따라서 본 연구 결과는 온실 내 토마토 증산을 단기적으로 추정하기 위해 GRU 및 LSTM 모델을 권장한다.

A nuclear receptor, Met, mediates juvenile hormone (JH) action to control gene expressions associated with metamorphosis in many insects. In this study, we showed that RNA interference (RNAi) of the Met or Kruffel homolog 1 (Kr-h1) induced the precocious metamorphosis of Tribolium castaneum larvae. JH significantly inhibited cellular immune response of T. castaneum hemocyte by suppressing hemocyte-spreading behaviour and nodule formation in response to bacterial injection. However, either RNAi of Met or Kr-h1 expression did not prevent the JH-inhibitory effect on hemocyte behaviors. However, several inhibitors specific to JH membrane action significantly inhibit the JH action hemocytes. These results suggest that JH responsiveness of hemocyte is not mediated by the nuclear receptor.

A viral histone H4 is encoded in a polydnavirus called Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV), which is symbiotic to an endoparasitoid wasp, C. plutellae. Compared to general histone H4, the viral H4 possesses an extra N-terminal tail containing 38 amino acid residues, which has been presumed to control host gene expression in an epigenetic mode. This study addressed the mutational analysis of extra N-terminal amino acid residues of a viral histone H4 and their epigenetic control efficacy. Mutational analysis was performed by serially deleting each of the nine amino acid residues from N-terminal tail of a viral histone H4. Transient expression of each truncated mutants (K1M-K19) in diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, was performed by microinjection of a recombinant expression vector and confirmed by RT-PCR. Under transient expression, we analysed the effect of these mutations on target gene, transferin. Interestingly, we found that truncated mutants (K1M-K15) did not inhibit the expression of target gene but mutations thereafter (K6M-K9M) significantly alter its expression. As expected these truncated mutants (K1M-K5M) also inhibit hemocyte nodule formation and development of Plutella xylostella. This suggest that lysine residue (K6) in the N-terminal tail is very crucial for the epigenetic control efficacy of viral histone H4.

A polydnavirus, Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV), is symbiotic to an endoparasitoid wasp, C. plutellae, which specifically parasitizes young larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Parasitization by an endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae, delays the larval development and metamorphosis in Plutella xylostella. Nutritional deprivation by the wasp may induce these developmental alterations in growing host. This study focussed on the change of insulin signaling of the parasitized host. The parasitized larvae exhibit a significant suppression in insulin-like peptide (ILP) expression, which was induced only by the injection of the CpBV. Reduced ILP expression significantly increased the blood sugar level (trehalose) level in the parasitized host, which was mimicked by starvation. Foxo was expressed in the parasitized larvae, but localized mostly in the nucleus. Overexpression of ILP gene in the parasitized larvae induced translation of Foxo to cytoplasm and significantly decreased trehalose level in the plasma. Interestingly, the overexpression of ILP gene significantly prevented the successful parasitization and allowed the host metamorphosis.

Polydnaviruses (PDVs) are a group of insect viruses and symbiotic to some endoparasitoid wasps classified in to Braconidae and Ichneumonidae. Though a lot of PDV genes are identified and analyzed in the host-parasitoid molecular interactions, PDV replication is still far from our understanding. PDVs are replicated in the wasp ovary during late pupal stage. A PDV, Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV), is symbiotic to Cotesia plutellae. The C. Plutellae ovary was analyzed in transcriptome by 454 pyrosequencing. The ovarian transcriptome provided several major DNA polymerases including Pol α, Pol δ, and Pol ε. All contigs matched to these polymerases were expressed in C. plutellae. Especially DP1 contig homologous to Pol α was highly expressed during late pupal and female adult stages. Its RNA interference significantly suppressed CpBV viral titre in the ovary. This study suggests a hint that CpBV replication uses a host DNA polymerase, in which Pol α may play a specific role in the viral replication in the ovary.

polydnavirus, Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV), is symbiotic to an endoparasitoid wasp, C. plutellae, which specifically parasitizes young larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. CpBV contains some genes originated from other insect viruses. CpBV-E94k1 and CpBV-E94k2 are homologous to corresponding baculovirus gene E94k, and may play an important role in host-parasitoid interactions. This study was conducted to confirm the origin and function of CpBV-E94k by analyzing its sequence and functional assays. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that CpBV acquires these E94k genes from baculoviruses. These two genes were expressed during entire period parasitization period. Expression of these E94ks was also tissue-specific because they were expressed in the hemocyte and fat body, but not in the other tissues. Subsequent analysis of gene function by RNA interference showed that it clearly inhibited host immune and developmental processes

An endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae, contains a polydnavirus called C. plutellae bracovirus (CpBV) and induces various physiological alterations of parasitized host along with expressions of viral genes. Two host translation inhibitory factors (HTIFs) encoded in CpBV specifically inhibit host mRNAs at post-transcriptional level. They are expressed in late larval stage of Plutella xylostella parasitized by C. plutellae. To understand their late expression control, promoter region of an HTIF gene called CpBV15α was cloned by inverse PCR. The cloned HTIF upstream region (1,113 bp) possessed a putative JH response element (JHRE) and other promoter elements. The putative promoter region was rejoined with an open reading frame of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP). When the recombinant vector construct was injected into early third instar larvae of nonparasitized P. xylostella, it was expressed in fourth larval instar at 72 h after injection, compared to relatively early expression in 24 h after injection of control construct containing a baculovirus immediate-early promoter. However, recombinant EGFP construct lost the late expression pattern when its promoter region was incomplete by truncating JHRE region. PYR application inhibited EGFP expression of the recombinant construct, but gave little influence on truncated constructs. Interestingly, when the complete promoter construct was injected to pupal stage, its late expression pattern was lost and showed early expression pattern. However, an addition of PYR to pupae, which had been injected with the complete promoter construct, inhibited the reporter gene expression. These results suggest that late expression of a HTIF (CpBV15α) is controlled by its promoter, which is sensitive to host JH titer.

Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii and Gryon japonicum (Ashmead), egg parasitoids of Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius), coexist despite direct competition for host eggs. As asymmetrical pattern of seasonal occurrence, i.e., more G. japonicum during spring-summer and more O. nezarae during summer-fall, has been reported, host resource partitioning may occur in temporal scales. To test this hypothesis, we demonstrated the interspecific competition between the two species by measuring parasitism in nine combinations of host densities and exposure times. To reflect gregarious-solitary dichotomy, three O. nezarae and one G. japonicum mated females were used in each experiment. O. nezarae was better competitor when exposure time was longer than 1 day irrespective of host densities. Parasitism rate and progeny emergence of O. nezarae was 1.6-2.8 and 4.7-7.3 times higher than G. japonicum. O. nezarae has higher potential rate of increase than G. japonicum due to gregariousness, and be more successful in larval competition inside multiparasitized host egg as it acts as a facultative hyperparasitoid. Although G. japonicum was more effective in host finding (as they showed relatively higher per capita parasitism and progeny emergence), their progeny suffered high mortality from the larval competition with O. nezarae. These results may explain the asymmetrical occurrence pattern in the field.

An endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae parasitized young larvae of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Parasitized larvae exhibit sign ificant immunosuppression and fail to metamorphose to pupal stage. Especially, during last instar of parasitized P.xylostella, massive nutrients divert from host to wasp development. CpBV15α ,a host translation inhibitory factors encoded in C. Plutella bracovirus(CpBV), plays a crucial role in suppressing host usage of amino acids. Its promoter analysis shows that CpBV15α specifically inhibit host development in late larval period. To understand its inhibitory target, its specific expression was performed in non-parasitized P. xylostella by in vivo transient expression technique. Total plasma proteins were analyzed by 2D gel electrophoresis and determined target genes inhibited by CpBV15α. Immunoprecipation of cellular extract with CpBV15α antibody captured eIF2B. CpBV15α shares sequence homology with eIF5, especially at its eIF2B-binding region. Our results suggest that CpBV15α may sequester eIF2B, which result in malfunctioning of eIF2 cycling to form a translation initiation complex.

An endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae parasitized young larval of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Parasitized larva exhibit significant immunosuppression and fail to metamorphose to pupal stage. Especially, during last instar of parasitized P. xylostella, massive nutrients divert from host to wasp development. HTIF (host translation inhibitory factor) encoded in C. Plutella bracovirus (CpBV) play a crucial role in suppressing host usage of amino acids. However, its inhibitory activity is selective by discriminating mRNAs based on their 5’UTR secondary structures. Our RT-PCR and proteomic analysis indicated that arginine kinase mRNA was inhibited by HTIF, but imaginal disc growth factor was not. Arginine kinase and IDGF were persistently expressed in parasitized P. .xylotella with the gradual decrease at the late parasitisation period. Expression of arginine kinase and IDGF were also tissue specific in the gut/epidermis and haemocyte but not in fat bodies. Subsequent analysis of these gene functions by RNA interference explained the benefit of parasitoid for the mRNA discrimination by HTIF.