Composition of inorganic elements and the leaching behavior of biomass combustion ashes discharged from wood pellet boilers in Japan

To evaluate the characteristics of wood ash as fertilizer, composition of inorganic elements and the leaching behavior were studied. The leaching behavior was evaluated by three leaching methods using different solvents (water, hydrochloric acid, and acetic acid: Japanese leaching test Nos. 18 and 19 and modified toxicity characteristic leaching procedure prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency). The ash composition varied according to raw materials for fuel and ash collection systems. Concentration of Na, Al, Si, and V became higher in bark ashes while that of K became higher in wood ashes. Pb, Cd, Se, and Zn were more volatile and enriched in fly ashes. Of the nutrient elements, K showed high water solubility and its phytoavailability also appeared high, although the amount of water-soluble K was low in bark ash. Ca and Mg had intermediate solubility while P was less soluble in both water and acetic acid. The amount of hazardous substances having leached was low for most, but not all the ashes, in terms of Pb, Cr and As. Nevertheless, the phytoavailability of these hazardous substances after their application to the forest appeared low, due to their amphoteric leaching behavior and the acidity of Japanese forest soils.     

Ethanol production from sugi pulp under simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using a cocktail enzyme of T. reesei and A. tubingensis produced by solid-state fermentation

The process of solid-state fermentation was used to produce a cocktail enzyme of Trichoderma reesei ATCC 66587 and Aspergillus tubingensis KRCF 700-33. Wheat bran, corncob, and sugi pulp were supplemented with ammonium sulfate as an enzyme-producing medium using T. reesei and A. tubingensis. The corncob blend ratio, duration of incubation, and ammonium sulfate concentration were optimized for enhancing cellulase production from T. reesei using a Box-Behnken design. Filter paper degrading activity more than tripled when T. reesei was grown in the optimized medium, as compared with the initial medium. The highest activity of 4.03 FPU/ml (about 29 FPU/g of dry material) was obtained with a cocktail enzyme having a 25 % content of A. tubingensis and 75 % of T. reesei. The sugi pulp was then fermented to ethanol with the cocktail enzyme and thermotolerant yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae BA-11) under simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) at 40 °C. An ethanol concentration of 4.48 % (w/v) was achieved using the cocktail enzyme (4 FPU/g-pulp) that was produced on-site with a substrate loading level of 12.5 wt %, which achieved an ethanol yield of 76 % after 72 h.     

Colletotrichum carthami comb. nov., an anthracnose pathogen of safflower, garland chrysanthemum and pot marigold, revived by molecular phylogeny with authentic herbarium specimens

Authentic herbarium specimens of Gloeosporium carthami and G. chrysanthemi as well as live Colletotrichum strains from Carthamus tinctorius, Chrysanthemum coronarium var. spatiosum, and Calendula officinalis were judged to be conspecific based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Representative strains from three asteraceous plants were demonstrated by inoculation tests to possess specific pathogenicity to the host plants. We propose a new combination, Colletotrichum carthami, for the anthracnose pathogen of the asteraceous plants, designating our specimen of G. carthami as its epitype. We characterize the species, which differs from the closely related Colletotrichum simmondsii in its pathogenicity and molecular characteristics.     

First report of Phytophthora palmivora as a causal pathogen of citrus brown rot in Japan

A fruit rot, similar to brown rot, occurred on extremely early ripening Satsumas in Saga Prefecture in the early autumn of 1999. A single species of Phytophthora was isolated from the affected fruit. After nonwounding inoculation of healthy fruits of Citrus spp. including Satsuma with the isolated fungus, the fungus was reisolated from fruit with symptoms similar to those in nature. On the basis of its morphology and molecular analysis of the rDNA-internal transcribed spacer regions, the pathogen was identified as P. palmivora. This is the first report of P. palmivora as a causal pathogen of citrus brown rot in Japan.     

Visualizing gas molecules interacting with supported nanoparticulate catalysts at reaction conditions

Understanding how molecules can restructure the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts under reaction conditions requires methods that can visualize atoms in real space and time. We applied a newly developed aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy to show that adsorbed carbon monoxide (CO) molecules caused the {100} facets of a gold nanoparticle to reconstruct during CO oxidation at room temperature. The CO molecules adsorbed at the on-top sites of gold atoms in the reconstructed surface, and the energetic favorability of this reconstructed structure was confirmed by ab initio calculations and image simulations. This atomic-scale visualizing method can be applied to help elucidate reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.     

Genetic characterization of rainfed upland New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties

A total of 18 rainfed upland New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties were categorized as the heavy panicle and low tillering types and early heading, in compared with 32 different varieties. These chromosome components were clarified using 243 SSR markers which showed polymorphism among NERICA varieties and their parents, CG 14 (O. glaberrima Steud.) and one of the recurrent parents, WAB-56-104 (O. sativa L.). NERICA varieties were classified into three groups, which corresponded with these parents’ continuation including two exceptions, NERICAs 14 and 17, by a cluster analysis using polymorphism data of SSR markers and 14 differential markers among them were selected to classify NERICA varieties. However, three groups: NERICAs, 3 and 4, NERICAs, 8, 9 and 11 and NERICAs, 15 and 16 were not distinguishable. Association analysis was carried out for characterization of NERICA varieties by using SSR markers genotype and phenotype of agronomic traits. A total of 131 quantitative trait loci between SSR markers and 11 agronomic traits were detected. The characteristics of early maturity and heavy panicle of upland NERICA varieties were succeeded from Asian rice varieties and the characteristics of high dry matter production and late heading were introduced from CG 14 and the other varieties.     

Evaluation of associative effects on ruminal digestion kinetics between pasture and grains using in vitro gas production method

In vitro gas production (GP) method was used to investigate associative effects on ruminal digestion when grains (corn or barley) were supplemented to spring pasture and autumn pasture. Pasture (75%) was incubated with 25% corn or barley and gas production was monitored up to 96 h. After incubation, the residues were used to determine dry matter and organic matter digestibility (DMD and OMD). Gas production parameters were analyzed by applying a single exponential equation. Organic matter effective degradability (OMED) was determined from GP parameters and OMD. The positive associative effects on the rate of GP, DMD, OMD and OMED were observed when spring pasture was incubated with corn. However, similar effects were not observed in a barley mixture. However, for autumn pasture, both corn and barley mixtures showed positive associative effects on rate of GP, OMD and OMED. The results of this study indicated that supplementation of corn would be better than barley for spring pasture with high water‐soluble carbohydrate contents, whereas both grain supplementations were effective to obtain positive associative effects on the rate of GP and OMED for autumn pasture with high cell wall content.     

Efficacy of oseltamivir phosphate to horses inoculated with equine influenza A virus

We investigated the efficacy of the oral administration of oseltamivir phosphate (OP) in horses experimentally infected with equine influenza A virus (H3N8). Nine horses were divided into three horses each of control, treatment and prophylaxis groups. An administration protocol for the treatment group (2 mg/kg of body weight, twice a day for five days) was started immediately after the onset of pyrexia (above 38.9 degrees C). An administration protocol for the prophylaxis group (2 mg/kg of body weight, once a day for five days) was started on a day before viral inoculation. In the treatment group, periods of virus excretion (mean days +/- standard deviation, 2.3 +/- 0.6) and pyrexia (2.0 +/- 0.0) were apparently shorter than those of the control group (6.0 +/- 0.0 and 8.0 +/- 1.0, respectively). In the prophylaxis group, although virus excretion and pyrexia were not prevented, the periods of virus excretion (5.0 +/- 0.0) and pyrexia (4.7 +/- 1.5) were shorter than those of the control group. Moreover, in the treatment and prophylaxis groups, bacterial counts of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus known as the common pathogen of secondary bacterial pneumonia in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids collected seven days after inoculation were significantly fewer than that of the control group. The results indicated that the oral administration of OP to horses affected with equine influenza would contribute to reduce the magnitude of virus excretion, pyrexia and consequent secondary bacterial pneumonia.