Impact of luxuriant aquatic plants on thermal convection in a closed water body

The attenuation of heat flux at the water surface with aquatic plants was examined by hydraulic experiments to consider the influence of aquatic plants on the magnitude of thermal disturbance in the closed water body. First of all, the experiment measuring temperatures on surface of leaf revealed the thermal conductivity of the leaf which is peculiar physicality of each aquatic plant. Then, the hydraulic experiment examined attenuation of the underwater illuminance and the heat flux in the covered part which depending on the kind and the luxuriant density of the aquatic plants. As the result, it is clarified that the attenuation rate of the illuminance is large in the plant with a thick leaf, and that the heat flux at the water surface and the developmental velocity of the mixed layer decreased when the luxuriant density of the aquatic plants increased.     

A new spore precipitator with polarized dielectric insulators for physical control of tomato powdery mildew

ABSTRACT In an attempt to physically protect greenhouse tomato plants from the powdery mildew fungus Oidium neolycopersici, we developed a new electrostatic spore precipitator in which a copper wire conductor is linked to an electrostatic generator and covered with a transparent acrylic cylinder (insulator). The conductor was negatively charged by the generator, and the electrostatic field created by the conductor was used to dielectrically polarize the insulator cylinder. The dielectrically polarized cylinder also produced an electrostatic force without a spark discharge. This force was directly proportional to the potential applied to the conductor and was used to attract conidia of the pathogen. The efficacy of this spore precipitator in protecting hydroponically cultured tomato plants from powdery mildew was evaluated in the greenhouse. The hydroponic culture troughs were covered with a cubic frame installed with the spore precipitator, and the disease progress on precipitator-guarded and unguarded seedlings was traced after the conidia were disseminated mechanically from inoculum on tomato plants. Seedlings in the guarded troughs remained uninfected during the entire experiment, in spite of rapid spread of the disease to all leaves of the unguarded seedlings.     

Effects of acorn attack by curculio weevils on the germination and early growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pasania edulis</Emphasis> (Makino) seedlings

We conducted field studies to evaluate the impact that curculio weevil attacks on Pasania edulis (Fagacea) acorns have on the regeneration of this tree. The germination ratio of weevil-attacked acorns was significantly lower than that of sound acorns. The number and position of the attacks on acorns affected the germination ratio. The seedlings from weevil-attacked acorns were shorter and had a smaller leaf area than those from sound acorns. The negative effects on seedling height lasted for at least three years after germination. We also studied the handling of the two types of acorns by granivorous Apodemus mice in a broad-leaved forest dominated by P. edulis. The mice picked up, transported, hoarded, and recovered sound and weevil-attacked acorns similarly. In the study site, the seedlings from weevil-attacked acorns were estimated to account for 1.5–20.4 % of the total seedlings for cohorts of mast years and 0–3.7 % for those of poor or medium acorn production. From these results, we conclude that acorns with the lower part of their cotyledons slightly damaged by weevil larvae might still be able to contribute to the regeneration of P. edulis in the field but that their contribution would be negligible or small even in mast years in this study site.     

牙鲆在保藏过程中影响ATP关联化合物降解的因素

为了深入了解牙鲆体内ATP关联化合物的变化,尤其是肌苷酸(IMP)降解这一限速步骤,利用高效液相色谱法(high efficiency liquid chromatography,HPLC)测定不同保藏条件下牙鲆体内ATP关联化合物和K值变化,并探讨了影响其变化的因素。结果显示,0°C保藏条件下牙鲆体内ATP在1 d内迅速降解,产生IMP作为初期的主要积累物质,蓄积一段时间(10 d)后迅速降解为次黄嘌呤(Hx),IMP的降解过程呈现二相性;鱼肉制成鱼糜形态保藏,ATP 0 d时几乎降解完全,但IMP的降解过程仍旧呈现二相性;加入抗菌素的鱼肉中微生物的生长得到有效抑制,此时IMP降解缓慢并且呈线性下降,原本的蓄积过程消失,K值的增长速率也随之减慢;加入Tritonx-100破坏细胞膜结构发现,牙鲆体内IMP的降解速率加快,同时K值的增长速率也随之加快。结果表明,牙鲆的保藏形态影响ATP的降解速率,但几乎不影响其他关联产物的降解变化;保藏后期外源微生物产生的酶与内源酶的叠加作用是导致保藏后期IMP加速降解、从而呈现二相性的原因,微生物是影响ATP关联化合物降解的关键因素;表面活性剂通过改变细胞膜结构也能够影响IMP的降解过程。     

Estimation of the carcass composition from a cross-section of the rib-loin from crossbred Japanese Black × Limousin F2 cattle by computer image analysis

The carcass composition of crossbred Japanese Black × Limousin F2 cattle was examined in order to find an accurate carcass composition equation. The test animals included 17 steers and 17 heifers. The 28 image measurements from the area encircling the vertical line to the thoracic vertebra and the line from the thoracic vertebra between the sixth and seventh rib‐bones were measured by computer image analysis. The relationships between the 29 parameters that added the carcass left side weight of the animal and the carcass composition were suggested. The carcass composition included muscle weight, muscle ratio, fat weight and fat ratio. The carcass composition from steers was estimated by an equation composed of these three or four parameters (R² = 90.80%, 79.30%, 90.75% and 73.70%, respectively). The selected parameters were measured without cutting the thoracic vertebra. The carcass composition from heifers was estimated by an equation composed of two to four parameters (R² = 96.15%, 90.98%, 93.60% and 88.22%, respectively). The parameters for the estimation of the muscle and fat weight, and muscle and fat ratio are very similar. Furthermore, the equations using the parameters could estimate the carcass composition from the Japanese Black × Limousin cattle resource population.     

不同电场下豆渣的电渗透脱水

在连续直流电渗透脱水中,局部电阻的增大和电极与物料接触处的电化学反应,严重阻碍了电渗透脱水的进行。该文采用等占空比和不等占空比电场来提高电渗透脱水的速率,并分析了电渗透过程中电压梯度和电路中电流的变化。认为不等占空比电场是提高电渗透脱水速率的有效方法。     

Toxicity and absorption of dietary leucomalachite green in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

Farmed fish are exposed to risks from feed-borne chemical contamination, such as leucomalachite green (LMG) in fish meal. Consequently, the use of malachite green is prohibited in aquacultural practice. An improved understanding of the toxicity of dietary LMG provided to farmed fish is needed in order to manage risk. Oreochromis niloticus specimens were fed experimental diets containing 0, 100, 500, and 2500 μg/kg LMG for 28 days. On sampling days 7, 14, and 28, fish in the exposed groups had detectable levels of LMG. Accumulation levels were approximately 12.2 % (in the liver) and 6.2 % (in the muscle) of the LMG concentration in the feed (104, 510, and 2200 μg/kg). Hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations in the 500 and 2500 μg/kg groups were significantly elevated at 7 and 14 days. Hemoglobin in the group that received the highest dose was significantly higher than that in the control group. Significant increases in the activities of alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were also detected in the group receiving the highest dose. Total cholesterol concentrations in all of the exposed groups were significantly higher than those in the control group. These observations of toxicity were dose dependent. Histological changes in gills and livers were observed in LMG-exposed fish.     

Modeling the effects of N application on growth,yield and plant properties associated with the occurrence of chalky grains of rice

The objective of this study was to propose a model for explaining rice responses to a wide range of N application rates in various growth attributes associated with the occurrence of chalky grains. We improved the sub-model for N uptake process of a previous rice model which was originally developed for explaining genotypic and environmental variations in the whole growth processes, considering the difference in the rate of N loss from the plant-soil system between indigenously supplied soil mineral N and fertilizer N. A total of 80 growth datasets of cultivar ‘Koshihikari’ grown at Shiga prefecture, Japan, in 2010 was utilized for the calibration and validation of the model. The rice growth model well explained the above-ground biomass growth (RMSD = 78.7 g m^?2) and rough dry grain yield (RMSD = 83.2 g m^?2) for the validation data-set, simultaneously. The simulated carbohydrate content available per single spikelet was negatively correlated with the observed percentage of the milky-white grain which includes white-cored grain (r = ?.77, p < .001) for all the data-sets of calibration and validation. On the other hand, the observed percentage of the sum of white-back and white-base grains was closely correlated with the simulated plant N content available per single spikelet (r = ?.59, p < .001). It was suggested that the present rice growth model would rationally explain the effects of N application on the occurrence of the chalky grains through the dynamic change of the carbohydrate content and plant N content available per single spikelet.     

Use of soil nonexchangeable potassium by paddy rice with clay structural changes under long-term fertilizer management

To prove the hypothesis that paddy rice utilizes soil nonexchangeable potassium (neK) and causes associated structural changes in clay minerals, K status and clay mineralogy of 22 surface soils from three paddy fields under long-term fertilizer management for 51–93 years were investigated. Soil neK content was determined as the difference between 1 mol L⁻¹ hot HNO₃ extractable K and 1 mol L⁻¹ ammonium acetate exchangeable K. Clay mineralogy was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The radiocesium interception potential (RIP), an index of frayed edge sites in the interlayer sites of 2:1 type clay minerals, was also determined. The neK contents under the -K and NPK treatments were considerably lower than those under the unfertilized treatment in all the fields, indicating the exploitation of soil neK by rice. XRD analysis of the clay samples revealed 7% shift from the 1.0 peak to 1.4 nm one under the -K treatment compared with the unfertilized one, and the amounts of neK were negatively correlated with those of RIP (p < .01), suggesting the expansion of interlayer spaces of the 2:1 type phyllosilicates such as mica due to the release of neK. In addition, the neK content positively correlated with K balance of the long-term experiments (p < .05). The differences of neK between unfertilized K and -K treatments corresponded to 22–157 kg K ha⁻¹, or 0.42–1.68 kg K ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. In conclusion, utilization of considerable amount of soil neK under K depleted conditions should be considered to establish sustainable K management for paddy rice.