Surface deterioration of wood-flour polypropylene composites by weathering trials

The market for wood-fiber plastic composites (WPCs) is expanding rapidly in many countries including Japan, where WPCs are mainly used for exterior products. In such applications, WPCs undergo undesirable color change, chalking, and shrinkage and swelling, and accordingly there is a need to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the weathering of WPC and develop methods of improving their weathering resistance. In this study, weatherability of WPC was assessed by natural and accelerated weathering trials. Discoloration (whitening) of WPC during exposure was caused by degradation of both wood and plastic. Darker color pigments as additives improved the color stability of WPC; however, chalking on the surfaces still occurred. The color stability of WPC was improved by application of exterior coatings. Preweathering of WPC (before coatings were applied) increased the absorption of coatings by the WPC and had a positive effect on the color stability and prevented chalking of the composites. Parts of this study were presented at the IUFRO XXII World Congress Meeting, Brisbane, August 2005 and the IAWPS 2005, Yokohama, November 2005     

Sorption of Cr(VI) on the wood of Japanese larch treated with concentrated sulfuric acid

A carbonaceous sorbent was prepared from the wood of Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) by dehydration with concentrated sulfuric acid in a 69% yield. The abilities of the sorbent to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions were investigated. Research parameters included the initial solution pH, temperature, and initial concentration of Cr(VI) in solution. The removal of Cr(VI) was highly solution pH dependent and was mainly governed by physicochemical sorption under weak acidic conditions. The equilibrium data fit well in the Langmuir isotherm model. The Langmuir constants were calculated at different temperatures, and the sorption capacity increased with rising temperature, indicating the endothermic nature of the Cr(VI) sorption onto the sorbent. The desorption experiments suggest that the Cr(VI) sorption is generally irreversible, owing to strong interaction of HCrO ₄ ⁻ with the active sites of the sorbent.     

绵粉蚧危害的花椒树对异色瓢虫的招引作用

1999— 2 0 0 1年研究了山西太行山区花椒林受绵粉蚧危害后 ,花椒树对主要天敌昆虫异色瓢虫的招引作用。结果显示 ,花椒树受害的新鲜枝梢对瓢虫的引诱率为 5 7 0 % ,未受害新鲜枝梢引诱率为 2 0 0 % ,用受害枝条水浴蒸馏出的馏分招引瓢虫的百分率为 37 0 % ,未受害枝条馏分招引瓢虫百分率为 10 3%。说明花椒绵粉蚧危害 ,可诱导树体挥发性物质发生改变 ,增加了对天敌昆虫的引诱作用 ,并且对瓢虫的引诱力随着受害枝梢量的增加而增强 ,它的诱导活性在受害后可持续约 2个月 ;采用GC MS联用仪分析比较 ,发现受害花椒枝梢的酯类物质明显增多 ,受害与未受害花椒枝梢的气相色谱图中有 15个峰位的化学组分相同 ,但受害的含量显著高。另有 9个峰位的组分在未受害枝梢中含量太低 ,未检测出。     

First report of trunk rot caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitiporia torreyae</Emphasis> in Kyoto prefecture on cultivars of Japanese cedar with no relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’

Trunk rot, caused by Fomitiporia torreyae, is one of the most economically important sap rot diseases on Cryptomeria japonica, especially on a cutting cultivar ‘Sanbu-sugi’. This disease had been reported only from Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan; however, a similar trunk rot on Japanese cedars was found recently in Kyoto prefecture. We identified the causal agent of the trunk rot on Japanese cedars in Kyoto prefecture, clarified the genotype of ‘Sanbu-sugi’ (sensu stricto) using microsatellite markers, and then investigated the relatedness of these infected cedars with ‘Sanbu-sugi’. The pathogen was identified as F. torreyae by its DNA sequences and morphological characteristics of the fruiting body. The 25 ramets of ‘Sanbu-sugi’ had only one genotype based on eight microsatellite loci. Infected Japanese cedars in Kyoto were comprised of different genotypes and showed no close relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’. This is the first report of trunk rot caused by F. torreyae on cultivars of Japanese cedar with no relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’ outside of Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures and showed the potential for expansion of this disease to Japanese cedar plantations in other areas.     

工能基因组学:T-DNA介导的基因诱捕和植物基因鉴定(英文)

拟南芥菜、水稻、蕃茄、土豆、玉米、小麦和大豆的全基因组测序为植物细胞和发育生 物学研究提供了许多有用的信息。基因组学的中心任务是利用这些信息去探索蛋白质的功能 和鉴定与发育有关的重要基因。尽管依赖于毁坏基因和产生可识别的突变表型的经典遗传学 方法仍然是极为成功的基因鉴定方法，借助于报告基因结构，随机插入植物基因组的T-DNA 介导的基因诱捕正发展成为植物细胞和发育生物学研究的极强有力的技术。本文描述了基因 诱捕、启动子诱捕和增强子诱捕在植物生物学中的应用，并且希望这些基因鉴定方法有助于 植物分子生物学家和生物技术工作者的研究。     

Does streptobacillary arthritis reduce house mouse population density,activity and damage to sorghum crops?

An experiment to examine the effect of streptobacillary arthritis on mouse populations was conducted in maturing sorghum crops in mouse-proofed pens. There were three treatment pens and three control pens in which mice with and without clinical signs of streptobacillary arthritis were introduced, respectively. A constant mouse density (533 mice ha⁻¹) was introduced to the pens by releasing 12 mice in each pen. The sex ratio of introduced mice was also constant by releasing in each pen nine males and three females. Mean track index was lower in treatment pens than in control pens, indicating that streptobacillary arthritis reduced the activity of mice. However, this was not translated into a reduction in other population responses. Mean mouse density at harvest, percentage of female pregnant at harvest, yield loss caused by mice and a feeding index (oil card index) did not differ significantly between treatment and control groups. A plausible explanation for these findings was that mice with the clinical signs might be less active but were able to consume as much grains as mice without the clinical signs because food was in abundant supply.     

Moisture content penetration in wood elements under varying boundary conditions

Knowledge of effects of moisture exposure on timber structures is important for serviceability and load bearing capacity of timber elements and systems. Varying climate affects the moisture content profiles in timber as the relative humidity changes in the ambient air. This paper presents methods for calculation of diffusion based moisture transport and corresponding results on how timber responds to varying moisture with regard to moisture penetration and distribution. The calculations are based on measured outdoor relative humidity and temperature at different climatic locations in Sweden. No remarkably large deviations between the different climatic locations were found in general, which is positive in a design code perspective.     

Transverse shrinkage in G-fibers as a function of cell wall layering and growth strain

Transverse drying shrinkage was measured at microscopic and mesoscopic levels in poplar wood characterised by an increasing growth strain (GS), from normal to tension wood. Results show that: (a) the drying shrinkage, measured as a relative thickness decrease, was significantly higher for G-layer (GL) than for the other layers (OL), GL shrinkage was not significantly correlated with GS, and OL shrinkage was negatively correlated with GS. (b) In gelatinous fibre (G-fibre), lumen size increased during drying and this increase was positively related with GS, but in normal wood fibre, lumen size decreased during drying. These findings suggest that GL shrank outwards (i.e., its internal perimeter increases), so that its shrinkage weakly affected the total cell shrinkage and the mesoscopic shrinkage was controlled by the OL shrinkage which shrank inwards (i.e., its external perimeter decreases). (c) Measurements done on 7 × 7 mm2 thin sections evidenced a negative correlation between transverse shrinkage and GS, significant in T direction but weak in R direction. These observations at both levels allow to discuss the contribution of GL to the mesoscopic shrinkage of tension wood.     

Host selection of small cedar longicorn beetle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Callidiellum rufipenne</Emphasis> (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae), on Japanese cedar, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>, in terms of bark water content of host trees

We caught the adults of a secondary wood-boring insect, Callidiellum rufipenne (Motschulsky), on Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica D. Don., trees and logs with manipulated bark water contents to clarify the mechanism of host selection by C. rufipenne. More C. rufipenne were trapped when the bark water content range was ca. 120–200%. Fewer C. rufipenne were trapped at higher and lower bark water contents. These findings indicate that C. rufipenne adults do not simply select weakened or dying trees. Bark water content is one of important factors for C. rufipenne choosing their host for oviposition.