Molecular basis of the shish-kebab morphology in polymer crystallization

In the rich and long-standing literature on the flow-induced formation of oriented precursors to polymer crystallization, it is often asserted that the longest, most extended chains are the dominant molecular species in the "shish" of the "shish-kebab" formation. We performed a critical examination of this widely held view, using deuterium labeling to distinguish different chain lengths within an overall distribution. Small-angle neutron-scattering patterns of the differently labeled materials showed that long chains are not overrepresented in the shish relative to their concentration in the material as a whole. We observed that the longest chains play a catalytic role, recruiting other chains adjacent to them into formation of the shish.     

Effects of DD,EDB and PCP upon microorganisms and their activities in soil part I effects on microflora

The extensive use of various insecticides or herbicides makes it desirable to know what influences, if any, such chemicals may exert upon soil microorganisms. The effect of chemicals should be considered not only upon plant pathogenes, but also upon general soil micro-organisms.     

Effects of DD,EDB and PCP upon microorganisms and their activities in soil part II effects on microbial activity

In the previous paper (7), the effect of chemicals upon microbial balance in soil has been reported. Since it is a usual phenomenon that an effect on microbial balance brings about the change of metabolism in soil, experiments were simultanuously conducted on the effect of chemicals upon the microbial activity in soil. It seems that not many reports have been concerned with the above aspects on the new chemicals.     

Effect of soil microorganisms on the growth of roots in rice seedlings

Abstract

Root system of rice seedlings grown on nutrient solution inoculated with soil microorganisms were examined morphologically in comparison with those obtained under sterile condition. In the presence of soil microorganisms, primary roots increased in their number and decreased in the total length. Inoculated plants had more secondary roots equipped with tertiary roots. In addition, longer root hairs developed densely on primary and secondary roots of the inoculated seedlings.

Anatomical examination of the primary roots revealed that the number and width of cortical layers, as well as the length and width of the cortical cells, were increased by the effect of microorganisms. Microbial effect on outer morphology of rice roots, consequently, was estimated to have been induced from the alteration in histological and cytological activities including the activation of the periclinal divisions of the epidermal cells, the inactivation of the transverse divisions of the cortical cells and the activation of the elongation of cortical cells.     

日本水稻育种目标

日本水稻育种以农业.食品产业技术综合研究机构的六个农业研究中心为主。育种目标主要是培育具有优良食味、品质及抗病性强、产量高的主食用品种,同时进行糯稻、酒米稻、饲用稻及适于直播的品种的选育。并重视低直链淀粉含量、低蛋白质含量、富含-γ氨基丁酸(GABA)以及特殊用途米的品种选育。     

Phosphorus retention efficiency in rainbow trout fed diets with low fish meal and alternative protein ingredients

ABSTRACT:   Two experiments were conducted to evaluate feed quality and body phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) retention by rainbow trout fed test diets with low amounts of fish meal content and alternative low-P protein sources. A fish meal (FM) diet was used as control. Fish weighing 2.0 g and 134.7 g on average were reared with the experimental diets for 30 weeks and 15 weeks, respectively. The experimental diets had a good growth rate and feed utilization. In the first experiment the P retention was higher in the group of fish fed test diets (56 and 69%) compared to the FM-based diet (36%); N retention rates were similar for all groups. In the second experiment, fish were fed the test diet that had the best P retention in the earlier experiment. The P retention was lower than the values obtained in the first experiment (smaller fish), but still higher in the group of fish fed the low FM diet in comparison with the control group (36.0% and 22.2%, respectively). This represents a P loading into the water of 5.9 kg/t and 12.8 kg/t production for the test and the control diet, respectively. Therefore, low-P-loading diets for rainbow trout can be developed through the appropriate combination of alternative protein sources.     

Evolutionary impact assessment: accounting for evolutionary consequences of fishing in an ecosystem approach to fisheries management

Managing fisheries resources to maintain healthy ecosystems is one of the main goals of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF). While a number of international treaties call for the implementation of EAF, there are still gaps in the underlying methodology. One aspect that has received substantial scientific attention recently is fisheries‐induced evolution (FIE). Increasing evidence indicates that intensive fishing has the potential to exert strong directional selection on life‐history traits, behaviour, physiology, and morphology of exploited fish. Of particular concern is that reversing evolutionary responses to fishing can be much more difficult than reversing demographic or phenotypically plastic responses. Furthermore, like climate change, multiple agents cause FIE, with effects accumulating over time. Consequently, FIE may alter the utility derived from fish stocks, which in turn can modify the monetary value living aquatic resources provide to society. Quantifying and predicting the evolutionary effects of fishing is therefore important for both ecological and economic reasons. An important reason this is not happening is the lack of an appropriate assessment framework. We therefore describe the evolutionary impact assessment (EvoIA) as a structured approach for assessing the evolutionary consequences of fishing and evaluating the predicted evolutionary outcomes of alternative management options. EvoIA can contribute to EAF by clarifying how evolution may alter stock properties and ecological relations, support the precautionary approach to fisheries management by addressing a previously overlooked source of uncertainty and risk, and thus contribute to sustainable fisheries.     

Subducted seamount imaged in the rupture zone of the 1946 nankaido earthquake

The Nankai Trough is a vigorous subduction zone where large earthquakes have been recorded since the seventh century, with a recurrence time of 100 to 200 years. The 1946 Nankaido earthquake was unusual, with a rupture zone estimated from long-period geodetic data that was more than twice as large as that derived from shorter period seismic data. In the center of this earthquake rupture zone, we used densely deployed ocean bottom seismographs to detect a subducted seamount 13 kilometers thick by 50 kilometers wide at a depth of 10 kilometers. We propose that this seamount might work as a barrier inhibiting brittle seismogenic rupture.     

The 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake: displacement reaching the trench axis

We detected and measured coseismic displacement caused by the 11 March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake [moment magnitude (M(W)) 9.0] by using multibeam bathymetric surveys. The difference between bathymetric data acquired before and after the earthquake revealed that the displacement extended out to the axis of the Japan Trench, suggesting that the fault rupture reached the trench axis. The sea floor on the outermost landward area moved about 50 meters horizontally east-southeast and ~10 meters upward. The large horizontal displacement lifted the sea floor by up to 16 meters on the landward slope in addition to the vertical displacement.     

Oceanographic basis of the global surface distribution of Prochlorococcus ecotypes

By using data collected during a continuous circumnavigation of the Southern Hemisphere, we observed clear patterns in the population-genetic structure of Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic organism on Earth, between and within the three Southern Subtropical Gyres. The same mechanisms that were previously invoked to account for the vertical distribution of ecotypes at local scales accounted for the global (horizontal) patterns we observed. Basin-scale and seasonal variations in the structure and strength of vertical stratification provide a basis for understanding large-scale horizontal distribution in genetic and physiological traits of Prochlorococcus, and perhaps of marine microbial communities in general.