A low-operating-temperature solid oxide fuel cell in hydrocarbon-Air mixtures

The performance of a single-chamber solid oxide fuel cell was studied using a ceria-based solid electrolyte at temperatures below 773 kelvin. Electromotive forces of approximately 900 millivolts were generated from the cell in a flowing mixture of ethane or propane and air, where the solid electrolyte functioned as a purely ionic conductor. The electrode-reaction resistance was negligibly small in the total internal resistances of the cell. The resulting peak power density reached 403 and 101 milliwatts per square centimeter at 773 and 623 kelvin, respectively.     

环境激励条件建筑结构的试验建模研究

通过环境激励模态识别技术对一座中高层新结构大楼环境激励试验建模研究。首先介绍了试验模型设计 ,并在现场测量整栋大楼在环境激励下的振动响应。然后采用新发展的频率空间域方法 ( FSDD)进行模态识别 ,分别在 0～ 4.5 Hz和 0～ 6.5 Hz频率范围识别出 9阶弯曲和扭转模态频率和振型。采用频率空间域方法识别了结构的阻尼特性 ,并得到满意的结果。所得试验模型已成功应用于 CFT大楼的有限元动态模型修正。所研发的试验建模技术可望在结构响应预报 ,健康监测和振动控制中发挥重要作用     

A model explaining genotypic and environmental variation in leaf area development of rice based on biomass growth and leaf N accumulation

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the major determinants of crop photosynthesis. The objectives of this study were to clarify the relationship between LAI development and crop growth in diverse rice genotypes grown under widely different climate conditions and to develop a model explaining genotypic and environmental variation in LAI dynamics based on environmental and plant factors. Cross-locational experiments were conducted with nine different rice genotypes at eight locations in Asia covering a wide climate range under irrigated conditions with sufficient nitrogen application. The LAI observed at the heading stage ranged from 0.85 to 8.77 among the genotypes grown at the eight locations. A fairly stable allometric relationship was observed between LAI development and above-ground biomass growth during the period from transplanting to 2 weeks before heading over all the genotypes, sites and years (r = 0.91). The allometric relationship was, however, under the influence of leaf nitrogen content per unit leaf area (LNC, g m⁻² leaf) and air temperature. On the basis of these results, we modeled the LAI development as a function of relative crop growth rate (RGR), LNC and air temperature. The rate of LAI decrease associated with leaf senescence was also described as a function of LNC.     

Evaluation of cardiac rhythm in dogs treated with levamisole hydrochloride using 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography

The objective of this study was to evaluate the electrocardiographic alterations in the cardiac rhythm in dogs treated with levamisole hydrochloride over a period of 24 hours. Thirty-six mixed-breed dogs, both male and female, all clinically healthy, were used in the experiment. The dogs were divided into 6 groups with 6 dogs in each group, according to dosage and route of administration. The Holter test was initiated immediately after the treatment, and was maintained for 24 hours. In the group treated with 10 mg/kg by way of subcutaneous injection, one of them showed ventricular premature complexes, sometimes isolated and other times in pairs, and ventricular tachycardia, concentrated mainly in the first hour after administration of the drug. In the group of 6 animals treated subcutaneously with 25mg/kg, four showed isolated ventricular premature complexes, ventricular bigeminy and trigeminy, mainly during the first 2 hours after administration of the drug. All the animals in the other groups showed sinus arrhythmia followed by sinus arrest. The disturbances in the cardiac rhythm observed in clinically healthy animals treated with levamisole hydrochloride, indicate that it is preferable to avoid subcutaneous administration of levamisole hydrochloride and that the oral administration of the drug should be done with caution.     

Origin of the characteristic hygro-mechanical properties of the gelatinous layer in tension wood from Kunugi oak (Quercus acutissima)

The mechanism responsible for unusual hygro-mechanical properties of tension wood containing the gelatinous layer (G-layer) was investigated. Tension and normal wood specimens were sampled from the leaning stems of a 75- and a 40-year-old Kunugi oak (Quercus acutissima) tree, and the moisture dependencies of the longitudinal Young’s modulus and longitudinal dimensions were measured. The results, which were analyzed in relation to the anatomical properties of the specimens, revealed that the ratio of increase in the longitudinal Young’s modulus with drying was higher in the G-layer than in the lignified layer (L-layer); the longitudinal drying shrinkage displayed a similar pattern. It was found that the lattice distance of the [200] plane in the cellulose crystallite increased with drying, moreover, the half-width of the [200] diffraction peak increased with drying, which was remarkable in the tension wood. Those results suggest that in the green state, the polysaccharide matrix in the G-layer behaves like a water-swollen gel; however, it is transformed into a condensed and hard-packed structure by strong surface tension during moisture desorption, which is a form of xero-gelation. However, in the L-layer, condensation and subsequent xero-gelation of the polysaccharide matrix was prevented by the hydrophobic lignin that mechanically reinforces the matrix.     

Spatiotemporal distribution of aboveground litter in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation

We assessed the vertical distribution of litter and its seasonal patterns in the canopy and on the forest floor (soil), as well as litterfall (the flux of litter from the canopy to the soil) in a 33-year-old plantation of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don). The masses of total litter, dead leaves, and dead branches in the canopy of C. japonica trees averaged 34.09, 19.53, and 14.56 t dry wt ha⁻¹, respectively, and were almost constant during the study period. The total masses of the annual litterfall were 4.17 and 5.88 t dry wt ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the two consecutive years of the study. The mass of the soil litter averaged 7.95 t dry wt ha⁻¹ during the same period. All relationships between the mass of canopy litter and tree-size parameters (diameters at breast height and at the lowest living branch) were linear in a log-linear regression. Compared with the results for this plantation at a younger stage (16 years old), our results suggest that the total mass of dead leaves attached to each tree increases markedly with increasing age, but that the trajectory of this increase as a function of tree size may change from an exponential to a saturation curve with increasing stand age.     

Efficiency of entomopathogenic fungi in the control of eggs and larvae of the horn fly Haematobia irritans (Diptera: Muscidae)

The present study assessed the pathogenic effect of isolates E9, IBCB425 and IBCB159 of the Metarhizium anisopliae fungus, JAB06, JAB07 and AM09 of Beauveria bassiana, IBCB133 and CB75 of Isaria fumosorosea (=Paecilomyces fumosoroseus) and CG189 and CG195 of Isaria farinosa (=Paecilomyces farinosus) against eggs and larvae of the horn fly Haematobia irritans. Eggs were inoculated with suspensions containing 10⁶, 10⁷ and 10⁸ conidia ml⁻¹ of the fungal isolates and observed after 48 h to determine viability. In the larvae study, eggs were allowed to hatch into fresh bovine feces that had been treated with 10⁸, 10⁷ or 10⁶ conidia mg feces⁻¹. In both studies, 5 days after initial procedures, all formed pupae were transferred to an incubator at 27 ± 0.5 °C until the emergence of the adult flies was complete. The M. anisopliae isolates did not cause the death of H. irritans eggs, but they did promote the death of larvae that hatched from treated eggs, and therefore increased the total mortality. Isolate E9 promoted 100% mortality of treated larvae at a concentration of 10⁸ conidia ml⁻¹. For the B. bassiana isolates, no activity was observed against insect eggs or larvae. Both I. fumosorosea isolates promoted significant mortality (p < 0.05) of eggs at every concentration of conidia. Isolate CG195 of I. farinosa increased the mortality of larvae and pupae that hatched from treated eggs and promoted significant total mortality (p < 0.05) of the insect at every concentration of conidia.     

Blue mold of tomato caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium oxalicum</Emphasis> in Japan

In 2006, stem rot and blue-green crusty lesions were found on the stems of tomato plants in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Penicillium oxalicum was isolated repeatedly from the diseased plants. The causal fungus reproduced natural symptoms after artificial inoculation of tomato plants and was re-isolated from symptomatic plant tissue. P. oxalicum is a new pathogen that causes blue mold on tomato plants in Japan.     

Fatty Acid Taste Receptor GPR120 Activation by Arachidonic Acid,Eicosapentaenoic Acid,and Docosahexaenoic Acid in Chickens

It has been reported that the supplementation of chicken diet with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) affects the qualities of eggs and meat. Previous studies have shown that a functional fatty acid taste receptor, G protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120), is broadly expressed in chicken oral and gastrointestinal tissues, and chickens have a gustatory perception of oleic acid, which is a chicken GPR120 agonist. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of chicken GPR120 in response to PUFAs in chicken diets. Ca²⁺ imaging analyses revealed that chicken GPR120 was activated by AA, EPA, and DHA in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that chickens can detect PUFAs via GPR120 in the oral and gastrointestinal tissues, implying that chickens have a gustatory perception of PUFAs.     

Brewing Performance of Malted Lipoxygenase‐1 Null Barley and Effect on the Flavor Stability of Beer

We examined the malting and brewing performances of a lipoxygenase‐1 (LOX‐1) null line of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The LOX‐normal malt and the LOX‐null malt were prepared from F₄ populations derived from a single cross. We could not observe any major differences in the general malt characteristics between the two malts. A brewing trial was performed using these malts. The analysis of the wort and beer revealed that the absence of LOX‐1 had little effect on the general characteristics of the wort and beer. In contrast, beer made from the LOX‐null malt showed reduced levels of beer‐deteriorating substances, trans‐2‐nonenal (T2N), and trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid (THOD). In the sensory evaluation, well‐trained panel members recognized the significant superiority of the aged LOX‐null beer in terms of staleness. These results show that the LOX‐1 null barley line can be effectively used to improve the flavor stability of beer without changing the other important beer qualities.