Challenges of Pig Breeding in Japan

Genetic breeding systems for pigs over the last 30 years in Japan are roughly classifiable into three. Local government experiment stations and the national improvement center have used a closedline breeding system. A second is an open breeding system used by private breeders and breeding companies. A third is breeding through introduction of hybrid pigs from foreign countries. The closed line breeding system has produced many excellent breeds from lines that have been selected not only for meat production traits, but also for reproductive traits and meat quality traits. Tokyo-X and Shimofuri-red were completed respectively in 1996 and in 2002. These two lines are breeds for which intramuscular fat was adopted as a direct selection trait. These successes achieved through such breeding are attributable to improved measuring methods of meat production traits and meat quality traits, along with improved statistical breeding methods. Now and in the future, breeding for disease resistance will become an important subject that attracts pig breeders\u27 research efforts. One method of breeding for disease resistance is to select for morbid state as a direct selection trait. Aside from this, an indirect selection exists for immunity traits that are related genetically to disease resistance traits. We examine a breeding strategy that unites these two methods, and are performing selection now. Future selection methods might use marker-assisted selection with markers obtained through QTL analysis, for which candidate gene analyses might be effective

Sequentially Timed All-Optical Mapping Photography for Real- Time Monitoring of Laser Ablation: Breakdown and Filamentation in Picosecond and Femtosecond Regimes

To investigate ultrafast phenomena, a novel, ultrafast imaging technique was developed. Sequentially timed all-optical mapping photography (STAMP) performs single-shot image acquisition without the need for repetitive measurements and without sacrificing high-temporal resolution and image quality. The principle of this imaging method is based on the all-optical approach, and therefore it overcomes the temporal resolution in conventional high-speed cameras. Also, STAMP’s single-shot movie-shooting capability allows us to obtain sequential images of non-repetitive ultrafast dynamic phenomena. Here, we present the motion pictures of early stage dynamics during femtosecond laser ablation captured by two types of STAMP setup. Breakdown was induced by intense femtosecond laser pulse and monitored with a frame interval of 15.3 ps and a total of six frames. The movie clearly shows the plasma generation and expansion on glass surface. Also, filamentation was generated inside a glass and observed with a frame interval of 230 fs and total of 25 frames. These phenomena have previously only been observed by pump-probe imaging. STAMP is a powerful tool to understand precise processes of complex dynamics in ultrashort laser ablation