Examining the Optimal Method to Extract Logging Residues from Small-Scale Forestry in the Nasunogahara Area,Tochigi Prefecture,Japan

This study examines the optimal method to extract logging residues from small, fragmented and scattered forests separately from the mechanized operational systems used on aggregated forestry operation sites. First, small-scale logging systems operated by a private logging contractor and an individual forest owner were investigated. Regression equations for estimating felling and processing cycle times were established as a function of stem and log volumes, respectively. Equations to estimate the forwarding and transporting cycle times were established as a function of the forwarding and transporting distances using the forwarding and transporting velocities, respectively. Then, equations to estimate productivities and costs were established with the cycle times, volumes and hourly operational expenses consisting of labour and machinery expenses. Finally, costs of the small-scale systems—mini-forwarder and 4 t truck operated by a private logging contractor, and manual logging and light truck operated by an individual forest owner—were estimated and compared with the mechanized operation system operated by the Forest Owners’ Association. The mechanized operation system was found to have the highest cost and could not compete for small forestry operational sites and small stem volumes. The small-scale systems could be effective for harvesting small areas. This was especially true when conducting extracting operations without machines, as done by the individual forest owner, and transporting operations by a private logging contractor, in which the hourly income of the individual forest owner was higher than the hourly labour expenses.     

Effect of a seaweed mixture on serum lipid level and platelet aggregation in rats

ABSTRACT:   To assess the effect of a seaweed mixture on lipid levels in serum as well as platelet aggregation in rats, Eisenia bicyclis ('Arame'), Hizikia fusiformis ('Hijiki') and Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls ('Mekabu'), all brown seaweeds, and Porphyra yezoensis ('Susabinori'), a red seaweed, were powdered and mixed in a ratio of 45:30:20:5 (w/w). When rats were fed a cholesterol-rich diet containing this mixture of seaweeds (9–10% w/w) for 28 days, serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, free cholesterol, and triglyceride levels declined significantly to 49.7%, 48.1%, 49.0% and 74.8%, respectively, of those of the control. Serum HDL-cholesterol, however, was unchanged. Though activated partial thromboplatin time, prothrombin time, antithrombin III activity, and fibrinogen levels in plasma were unchanged, the maximal ADP- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation decreased significantly to 89.0% and 85.5% control levels, respectively. These results indicate that this mixture of E. bicyclis , H. fusiformis , U. pinnatifida sporophylls, and P. yezoensis , is useful for the prevention of hyperlipidemia and thrombosis in rats.     

Relationship between soak time and number of enmeshed animals in experimentally lost gill nets

In order to determine the effects of ghost fishing by lost gill nets, the relationship was examined between soak time and number of enmeshed animals in experimentally lost gill nets by using diving observations. Two experimental gill nets were set at 13 m depth in Tateyama Bay, Chiba Prefecture, Japan for approximately 200 days. One gill net was deployed in a small trough surrounded by artificial reefs, and the other was deployed on an adjacent open sandy bed. Twelve species of crustaceans, six species of gastropods, and five species of bony fish were enmeshed in the experimental gill nets. The number of enmeshed animals in the artificial reef gill net was substantially larger than that in the sandy bed gill net. The number of enmeshed animals in the experimental gill nets increased rapidly within one month after deployment, and then declined gradually showing fluctuations caused by the decrease in newly enmeshed animals, and the drop off from gill nets caused by the decomposition of dead animals. The decrease in the number of enmeshed animals was expressed by logarithmic equations, and based on these equations, the duration of capture function for the lost gill nets was calculated to be 284–561 days in the artificial reef gill net and 200 days in the sandy bed gill net. The duration of capture function for the lost gill nets for non-commercial by-catch species such as small crustaceans and gastropods was longer than for commercial species such as Japanese spiny lobster and bony fish.     

Changes of lymphocyte subpopulations and natural killer cells in mice sensitized with Toxoplasma lysate antigen before and after Babesia infection

When 8-week-old BALB/c mice were sensitized with two intramuscular injections of Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) at 2 week interval, the numbers of sIg(+), Thy-1,2(+), Lyt-1,2(+) Lyt-2,2(+), and Asialo GM1(ASGM1)(+) cells in the spleen, liver and peripheral blood increased by 2 to 4 times over those found in unsensitized mice of the same age. When TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice were infected with Babesia, 4 of 10 (40%) of the TLA-sensitized mice survived infection, while none of the unsensitized control mice lived longer than 14 days after Babesia infection. By contrast, sensitization of nude mice with TLA had no effect on survival, and mice did not live more than 12 days. The number of thymic Thy-1,2(+) cells decreased in TLA-sensitized and unsensitized BALB/c mice by almost 80% within 10 days after infection (AI). During the same time, the numbers of B cells, T cells, and NK cells increased in the spleen, liver and peripheral blood of both sensitized and unsensitized mice. Especially notable were increases in numbers of Lyt-2,2(+) cells in the spleen and blood and increases in numbers of NK cells in the spleen, liver and blood in both TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice. When spleen cells from TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice were cultured in the presence or absence of TLA for 6 days, assays for cytotoxicity using NK-insensitive P-815 target cells and NK-sensitive YAC-1 target cells demonstrated higher rates of cytotoxicity in cultures of TLA-sensitized spleen cells.     

Evaluation of Root Sink Ability of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) Cultivars on the Basis of Enzymatic Activity in the Starch Synthesis Pathway

Activities of five enzymes, sucrose synthase (SUS), uridine 5'-diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPGPPase), fructose-1,6 bisphosphatase (FBPase), adenosine 5'diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGPPase) and starch synthase (STS), in the metabolic pathway of starch synthesis, were compared between two sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas Lam.) cultivars, Koganesengan (C.V.KOG, a recently released high yield cultivar) and Tsurunasigenji (C.V.TSU, an old, local cultivar with poor yield). The measurements were carried out using the root samples (tuberous, thick and fibrous roots) harvested at the fast tubering stage. Of the five enzymes, SUS, ADPGPPase and STS showed high activities in the tuberous root, particularly in that of C.V.KOG, and a similar trend was observed for activities of these enzymes on a protein basis. The increased activity of the three enzymes is considered to be one of the characteristics in a high yield cultivar, allowing the root to function effectively as a starch synthesis and storage organ.     

Increasing mutagenic efficiency of gamma-radiation in rice by irradiation of seeds at extremely low temperature

Summary Dry seeds of rice, Oryza sativa L., containing about 13 percent moisture, were exposed to ⁶⁰Co gamma raysat extremely low temperature (–196°C). M₁ damage on survival rate, seedling height and seed set were found to become much smaller in the cooling treatment than in the not-cooled control. Chlorophyll and heading date mutation frequencies in the M₂ generation were not affected by the decreased M₁ damage caused by the cooling treatment, and the mutation frequencies could be significantly increased by applying higher doses combined with the cooling treatment. Frequency of sterile or semi-sterile mutants in the M₂ generation was found to be significantly lower in the cooling treatment than in the not-cooled control.It is assumed from the experimental results that extremely low temperatures during irradiation could reduce the amount of physiological damage and gross chromosome aberrations. This results in an increased efficiency of producing minute deletions and/or point mutations.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping of the barley waxy gene by polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers

A high‐throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping procedure was developed to select amylose‐free barley mutants whose waxy genes had a C‐ to T‐base substitution in exon 5, which converted Gln‐89 of the wild‐type gene into a termination codon. An F₂ population carrying an amylose‐free waxy gene was checked for segregation. Polymerase chain reaction with confronting two‐pair primers (PCR‐CTPP) produced allele‐specific PCR products that have different sizes and are inherited in a co‐dominant manner. Two alleles of the barley waxy gene with SNP were correctly identified in parental strains using the PCR‐CTPP procedure. Segregation of the SNP as detected by PCR‐CTPP in an F₂ population fitted the expected 1:2:1 ratio. The PCR‐CTPP procedure can provide a time saving and cost‐effective alternative to derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence in marker‐assisted selection.     

Bow variation in kiln-dried boxed-heart square timber of sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) cultivars

To evaluate the bow variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), bows from kiln-dried timber for five sugi cultivars with different longitudinal shrinkage trends were compared for two stem heights. Two general trends were observed, depending on the cultivar: (1) either the bow was larger at the lower than at the upper part of the stem, or (2) the bows at the lower and the upper parts of the stem were similar. In timber that had larger bow values, the gradients of longitudinal shrinkage were large across the radius and along the length of the timber. There was a positive relationship between the bow and longitudinal shrinkage. These results suggest that the bow variation between the timbers was caused by a variation in longitudinal shrinkage, which was affected by the microfibril angle. Furthermore, the bow was inversely proportional to the modulus of elasticity, which suggests that timber with a low modulus of elasticity is susceptible to a large bow due to large longitudinal shrinkage.     

中国首都圈土地沙化过程及防治对策——以河北省丰宁县小坝子乡为例

以河北省丰宁县小坝子乡的土地沙化为例，从地质过程、生物过程、人文过程探讨和研究了沙化演变与治理对策，指出了治穷和治沙的关系，绿化与水平衡的因果关系，提出绿色、人文、科技结合，林草兼顾、经济发展与环境建设是步，是为北京堵沙源、保水源的有效措施。     

Rapid, Micro-Methods to Estimate Plant Silicon Content by Dilute Hydrofluoric Acid Extraction and Spectrometric Molybdenum Method

By treating 0.5 g DW of a plant sample directly with 10 ml of a dilute hydrofluoric acid solution (HF solution, 1.5 M HF—0.6 M HCl), all the silica in plant (as much as 150 mg SiO₂) was dissolved within 1 h. After dilution of the extract with 40 mL of distilled water, the silica in the extract was measured by the spectrometric molybdenum yellow method. The molybdenum yellow method, in which silica in 0.1 mL of the diluted extract can be determined in 8 min, is well suited to rapid, micro-estimations of the silica content in plants. In the micro-modification, the size of the plant sample was reduced to 100 mg DW. The analytical procedure was simple, and the analytical time was less than 2 h. The method can save much labor and time, compared with the gravimetric analysis. The dissolution with HF solution and the molybdenum yellow method were also applied to the measurement of the content of silica separated by acid digestion of rice plants. Excellent agreement in the silica measurement of rice plants was confirmed among the direct extraction method, the gravimetric method and the digestion-separation-dissolution method. In the molybdenum yellow method, the addition of boric acid enabled to mask the interference of hydrofluoric acid, and the least amount of citric acid required for the elimination of phosphorus interference was proposed. In conclusion in this report, recommended methods for the rapid estimation of the silica content in rice plants were presented.