Quantitative monitoring of changes in forest habitat connectivity following the great eastern Japan earthquake and tsunami

Landscape Ecology - In March of 2011 a huge tsunami devastated forest habitats along the coast of Sendai Bay in northeastern Japan. Evaluation and monitoring of the changes in habitat connectivity...     

Effects of five additive materials on mechanical and dimensional properties of wood cement-bonded boards

There is a growing desire to improve the properties and use of nonwood plant materials as supplements to wood materials for wood cement-bonded boards (WCBs). This study was conducted to determine the comparative properties of WCBs containing various amounts of discontinuous inorganic fiber materials, such as alkali-resistant glass fiber, normal glass fiber, mineral wool, and nonwood plant materials such as retted flax straw and wheat straw particles. Tested cement-bonded boards were made at wood/additive compositions of 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 (weight percentages). Seventy-eight laboratory-scale WCBs were produced. Various board properties, such as the modulus of rupture (MOR), internal bonding strength (IB), water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS), and linear expansion (LE), were studied. The test results showed that three types of discontinuous inorganic fiber used as reinforcing materials in composites significantly enhanced and modified the performance of WCBs. The mechanical properties and dimensional stability of cement-bonded board were significantly improved with increasing amounts of the additives. MOR and IB were increased; and WA, TS, and LE of boards were reduced by combination with the inorganic fiber materials. The results also indicated that combination with retted flax straw particles only slightly increased the MOR of boards, and wheat straw particles led to marked decreases in all the mechanical properties and the dimensional stability of WCBs.Part of this report was presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kyoto, April 2000     

Hydration behavior and compressive strength of cement mixed with exploded wood fiber strand obtained by the water-vapor explosion process

Poor compatibility was found between exploded wood fiber strand (WFS) and cement due to the excessive presence of water-soluble degraded polysaccharides in extractives of exploded WFS obtained from weathered wood waste treated by the water-vapor explosion process (WVEP). This study presents some comparative results from a continuing investigation on the compressive strengths of exploded WFS–cement mixtures. Based on results previously obtained with the hydration test, the relation between hydration behavior and compressive strength of the mixture was explored. In addition, the effect of the curing age on compressive strength development of the mixture with selected additive chemicals was examined. The results supported the results of early studies with hydration tests indicating that adding MgCl₂ to the mixtures of exploded WFS mixed with quick-curing cement or ordinary Portland cement and a composite of MgCl₂ + CaO added to the mixture of exploded WFS and furnace-slag cement effectively improved the hydration behaviors; it greatly enhanced the compressive strengths of mixtures as well. Compressive strengths were strongly correlated to maximum hydration temperatures (T_max) of wood–cement mixtures influenced by the cement type, wood wastes (treated or not with WVEP), additive chemicals, and their content levels. The results also indicated that adding selected chemicals had no significant effect on compressive strength among the mixtures of exploded WFS mixed, respectively, with three types of cement at a curing age of 180 days. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to identify the hydration products and to probe the element distribution of the mixture in the wood–cement interface zone from a fractured surface.Part of this report was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, April 2002     

Limited but specific variations of seed storage proteins in Japanese common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The electrophoretic banding patterns ofgliadin in common wheat lines derived fromJapan were determined byacid-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. For the 107 wheat lines used in our study,27 different patterns were identified, 13corresponding to the -gliadin, 8 tothe , -gliadin and 6 to the-gliadin. The gliadin patterns ofJapanese wheat cultivars and landracesgreatly differed from the patterns of wheatlines from other countries, and thevariation seen in wheat lines from Japanwas limited to 46 patterns. Sevencollection or breeding areas in Japanshowed different frequencies in theirgliadin patterns. Combining the gliadinpatterns with high molecular weightglutenin subunit compositions, 67combinations were observed. One gliadinpattern consisting of -gliadinpattern F, , -gliadinpattern H and -gliadin pattern Dwas frequently found in many Japanese wheatlines, though the other patterns werelimited to only one or two wheat lines.     

Determination of organic acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection during wine brewing

Voltammetric determination of acids by means of the electrochemical reduction of quinone was applied to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ED) for determining organic acids in fruit wines. A two-channel HPLC-ED system was fabricated by use of an ion-exclusion column and an electrochemical detector with a glassy carbon working electrode. Aqueous solution of 0.1 mM HClO(4) and ethanol containing 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone served as a mobile phase and reagent solution, respectively. Determination of acetic, citric, lactic, malic, succinic, and tartaric acids was made by measuring the peak areas of the flow signals due to the reduction current of quinone caused by the eluted acids. The peak area was found to be linearly related to the acid amount ranging from 0.1 to 40 nmol per 20 microL injection. The present method was characterized by reproducibility with the simple and rapid procedure without derivatization of analytes. The method was shown as an effective means for following acid contents in fruit juices during fermentation with wine yeast.     

Use of chrysanthemum plantlets grown in vitro to test cultivar susceptibility to white rust, Puccinia horiana P. Hennings

An efficient incubation and inoculation system for white rust was established using plantlets of chrysanthemum growing in vitro. The internal conditions of a culture vessel (plant box) were maintained at a humidity of 90‐100% and an optimum temperature of 20‐25°C, which are suitable conditions to germinate teliospores and basidiospores of the pathogen. Telia were maintained continuously on plants in the plant box and were used as an inoculum for infection experiments throughout the year, allowing differences in susceptibility to white rust among chrysanthemum cultivars to be detected. Susceptibility to white rust in the plant‐box evaluation showed a good correlation with the rating of sporulation on plants grown in a greenhouse. The method described here is a simple, space‐saving inoculation system to evaluate the susceptibility of chrysanthemums to white rust.     

Effect of boiled barley-rice-feeding in hypercholesterolemic and normolipemic subjects

Barley contains approximately 10% dietary fiber and is easily cooked with rice, the dominant cereal in Japan, to increase the intake of dietary fiber. This research involved three experiments to examine the influence of barley on blood lipids in human subjects. All subjects received a boiled barley-rice (50/50 w/w mix) supplement two times per day in place of rice for 2 or 4 weeks. In the normolipemic subjects, serum lipids were unaffected by the ingestion of barley for 4 weeks. In twenty hypercholesterolemic men aged 41 ± 5 years, the ingestion of barley was associated with a significant fall in serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, phospholipids and LDL and VLDL-lipoproteins. In seven mildly hypercholesterolemic women aged 56±7 years, a significant improvement of serum lipid profiles was observed. The present study suggests the possibility that the ingestion of barley-rice could lower serum lipids in hypercholesterolemic subjects.     

粳稻近缘品种的SSR分析

 选用38对SSR引物，对16个日本优质米品种越光及其近缘品种进行了SSR标记分析。结果表明，有8对引物在品种间表现多态性，多态性引物检出率为21.1%，平均每对引物检测到2.25个等位基因。8个引物组合在一起，除了早喜光和日光2个品种不能区分外，其余品种均能有区别。多态性检出率亲本间为18.4%，越光及其衍生品种间为0~158%，表明近缘品种间多态性检出率较低。     

粳稻品种SSR多态性检出率的分析

 用395对SSR引物测得多态性检出率：日本近缘品种（粳型）间为11.12%，日本近缘品种与意大利品种（粳型）间、与美国品种（籼型）间及与菲律宾品种（籼型）间分别为17.58%、20.80%和38.62%，显示相同粳稻生态型品种间多态性检出率低于不同生态型品种间，而相同粳稻生态型内，日本近缘品种间的多态性检出率更低。在日本近缘品种中，不同品种间多态性检出率差异较大，其变幅为3.79~15.95%。此外，不同染色体间引物的多态性检出率也存在较大差异，其中第10染色体的供试引物多态性检出率无论在不同生态型品种间或相同生态型品种间均最低。     

Permuted tRNA genes expressed via a circular RNA intermediate in Cyanidioschyzon merolae

A computational analysis of the nuclear genome of a red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae, identified 11 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes in which the 3' half of the tRNA lies upstream of the 5' half in the genome. We verified that these genes are expressed and produce mature tRNAs that are aminoacylated. Analysis of tRNA-processing intermediates for these genes indicates an unusual processing pathway in which the termini of the tRNA precursor are ligated, resulting in formation of a characteristic circular RNA intermediate that is then processed at the acceptor stem to generate the correct termini.