Surface and subsurface losses of N and P from salt-affected rice paddy fields of Saemangeum reclaimed land in South Korea

The present study was carried out to evaluate nutrient losses that occur during the course of agricultural activity from rice paddy fields of reclaimed tidal flat. For this study, we chose a salt-affected rice paddy field located in the Saemangeum reclaimed tidal area, which is located on the western South Korean coasts. The plot size was 1,000 m² (40 m × 25 m) with three replicates. The soil belonged to the Gwanghwal series, i.e., it was of the coarse silty, mixed, mesic type of Typic Haplaquents (saline alluvial soil). The input quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus (as chemical fertilizer) into the experimental rice paddy field were 200 kg N ha⁻¹ and 51 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹ per annum, and the respective input quantities of each due to precipitation were 9.3–12.9 kg N ha⁻¹ and 0.4–0.7 kg P ha⁻¹ per annum. In terms of irrigation water, these input quantities were 4.5–8.2 kg N ha⁻¹ and 0.3–0.9 kg P ha⁻¹ per annum, respectively. Losses of these nutrients due to surface runoff were 22.5–38.1 kg N ha⁻¹ and 0.7–2.2 kg P ha⁻¹ for the year 2003, and 26.8–29.6 kg N ha⁻¹ and 1.6–1.9 kg P ha⁻¹ for the year 2004, respectively. Losses of these nutrients due to subsurface infiltration during the irrigation period were 0.44–0.67 kg N ha⁻¹ and 0.03–0.04 kg P ha⁻¹ for the year 2003, and 0.15–0.16 kg N ha⁻¹ and 0.05–0.06 kg P ha⁻¹ for 2004. When losses of nitrogen and phosphorus were compared to the amount of nutrients supplied by chemical fertilizers, it was found that 11.3–19.1% of nitrogen and 0.5–1.7% of phosphorus were lost via surface runoff, whereas subsurface losses accounted to 0.2–0.8% for nitrogen and only 0.02–0.04% for phosphorus during the 2-year study period.     

Integrated nutrient management for environmental-friendly rice production in salt-affected rice paddy fields of Saemangeum reclaimed land of South Korea

This study was conducted in an attempt to determine the proper nitrogen and phosphorus application levels, nitrogen split application ratio, and application method for environmental-friendly rice production in a salt-affected rice paddy field, which was located in the Saemangeum reclaimed tidal belt on the western coast of South Korea, between April 1, 2003 and October 10, 2004. All treatments were replicated three times in a randomized block design (5 m × 4 m plot) with 11 treatments (total 33 plots). We designed three treatments for the evaluation of reasonable application levels of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (A1–A3); five treatments to evaluate the nitrogen split application system (T1–T5); and three treatments to determine the proper application for chemical fertilizer (M1–M3). There was no significant difference of amylose and protein content among the application levels, application methods, and nitrogen split application ratios (P < 0.05). No significant differences in grain yield and yield components of rice were observed among the different application levels, application methods, and nitrogen split application ratios (P < 0.05). In order to save labor in agricultural households, preserve or enhance the grain quality of rice, and reduce nutrient losses, we determined that the optimum application level of nitrogen fertilizer was 140 kg ha⁻¹; the application split ratio of nitrogen fertilizer at four different periods was 40% for basal fertilization, 20% for maximum tilling stage, 30% for the panicle formation stage, and 10% for the booting stage; and the best application methods were deep layer application and whole layer application.     

Effect of molecular weight and concentration on crystallinity and post drawing of wet spun silk fibroin fiber

Wet spun silk fibroin (SF) filaments have attracted considerable attention because of their potential in biotechnological applications including surgical sutures, tissue engineering and wound dressing. Although the molecular weight (MW) of polymers is one of key factors affecting the wet spinnability of dope along with the structural characteristics and properties of wet spun filament, no related study has been conducted. In this study, regenerated SFs with different MWs and concentrations were prepared by wet spinning. The effects of the SF concentration and MW on 1) wet spinnability and rheology of silk dope solution and 2) crystallinity index and post drawing performance of wet spun silk filament were examined. Their relationships were also investigated. The rheological measurements showed that an 80 mPa·s viscosity is needed to obtain a continuous wet spun SF filament. As the MW of SF increased, the peak position of the maximum draw ratio shifted to a lower SF concentration with a concomitant increase in the maximum draw ratio value at the peak. Interestingly, the crystallinity index obtained from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed a similar trend to the maximum draw ratio suggesting that the post drawing ability is strongly affected by the quantity of short-ordered crystalline regions in wet spun SF filaments. On the other hand, X-ray diffraction did not detect any crystallinity change in the SF filament produced from the formic acid solvent system. It was concluded that MW strongly affected the dope solution viscosity and the crystallinity index from FTIR and these determined the fiber formation of dope and post drawing performance of fiber.     

Grafting of Triphenylmethyl Group onto Polyurethane and the Impact on the Shape Recovery and Flexibility at Extremely Low Temperature

The bulky and rigid triphenylmethyl group was grafted onto polyurethane (PU) to reduce the molecular attractions between hard segments and to improve the mobility of the PU chain under freezing conditions. The triphenylmethyl-grafted PU exhibited improvement in the cross-link density, solution viscosity, maximum tensile stress, shape recovery at 10 °C, and low temperature flexibility compared with the plain PU. The soft segment melting was not affected by the grafted triphenylmethyl group, whereas the soft segment crystallization disappeared with the increase of the triphenylmethyl group content. The glass transition temperature (T_g) increased with the increase of the triphenylmethyl group content. The rapid increase of the tensile strength and shape recovery at 10 °C resulted from the cross-linking effect, whereas the strain at break and shape retention at -25 °C slightly decreased with the increase of the triphenylmethyl group content. The triphenylmethylgrafted PU displayed an excellent low temperature flexibility even at -50 °C due to the improved mobility of the PU chain compared to ordinary PU.     

Compositional and digestibility changes in sprouted barley and canola seeds

Barley and canola seeds were sprouted over a 5 day period, in laboratory conditions under room temperature (22°C) and room lighting. Following initial hydration, seeds were kept moist by wetting the germination trays at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily. A parallel germination experiment using 200 g quantities of seeds in petri dishes was conducted. Starting from the second day of germination, and every day, dishes of germinating seeds were removed, oven-dried, weighed and milled for proximate and chemical analysis. Seeds from the main germination experiment were fed in a digestibility trial to Wistar rats. Results indicated that sprouting was associated with depletion of many nutrients in both barley and canola, the major losses being in respect of dry matter, gross energy and triglycerides. In barley (but not in canola) sprouting was associated with significant increases in crude fiber and diglyceride content. In canola, there were significant losses in lipid content and increases in phytosterol and phospholipid content. Digestibility data showed an enhancement in digestibility of nutrients in barley but not in canola, implying that sprouting improved nutritional quality of barley but not canola.     

Revealing the compositions of the intestinal microbiota of three Anguillid eel species using 16S rDNA sequencing

Anguilla japonica, A. marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica are important eel species for aquaculture in Taiwan. In the past, seldom studies focused on the intestinal microbiome of them or the probiotics used in their cultivation. Probiotics are microbes that can improve the health of organisms, and the microbes isolated from the intestines of organisms might be the potential probiotics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to collect the intestinal mucus samples of these three eel species for investigating the autochthonous microbiome using 16S rDNA sequencing. The diversity, abundance of the intestinal microbiome and compositions of all the libraries were identified. Moreover, the composition of intestinal microbiome of eel was suggested that it would be affected by the waters and the characteristics of different eel species. Furthermore, most of the identified predominant genera of the intestinal microbiome of these three eel species, such as Cetobacterium, Clostridium, Shewanella, Acinetobacter and Bacteroides, seemed to have great potential as the probiotics. In the future, more studies shall be conducted to promote the practical application of these candidate probiotics for improving the techniques of eel farming.     

Assessing the population transmission dynamics of tilapia lake virus in farmed tilapia

A novel virus, tilapia lake virus (TiLV), has been identified as a key pathogen responsible for disease outbreak and mass mortality of farmed tilapia. We used a deterministic susceptible‐infectious‐mortality (SIM) model to derive key disease information appraised with published TiLV‐induced cumulative mortality data. The relationship between tilapia mortality and TiLV exposure dosages was described by the Hill model. Furthermore, a disease control model was proposed to determine the status of controlled TiLV infection using a parsimonious control reproduction number (R_C)‐control line criterion. Results showed that the key disease determinants of transmission rate and basic reproduction number (R₀) could be derived. The median R₀ estimate was 2.59 in a cohabitation setting with 2.6 × 10⁵ TCID50 fish^?1 TiLV. The present R_C‐control model can be employed to determine whether TiLV containment is feasible in an outbreak farm by quantifying the current level of transmission. The SIM model can then be applied to predict what additional control is required to manage R_C < 1. We offer valuable tools for aquaculture engineers and public health scientists the mechanistic‐based assessment that allows a more rigorous evaluation of different control strategies to reduce waterborne diseases in aquaculture farming systems.