Surface-check variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) cultivars dried by the conventional kiln drying

To investigate the factors affecting the surface-check variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), surface checks formed by the conventional kiln drying were compared for two stem heights of five cultivars with different wood properties. The total length and average length of the surface checks were greater at the upper part of the stems for all the cultivars. This might be caused by more sapwood at the upper part of the stem, and large drying stresses between the outer sapwood and the inner heartwood. The cultivars, in which tangential shrinkage was large owing to small microfibril angle, formed longer surface checks and smaller bow. There was a positive relationship between surface-check length and tangential shrinkage. The heartwood percentage and tangential shrinkage were thought to be important factors affecting the surface-check variation in sugi boxed-heart square timber.     

Internal-check variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) cultivars dried by high-temperature kiln drying

To investigate the wood properties affecting the internal-check variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), two cultivars, yabukuguri and kumotooshi were kiln-dried together by the high-temperature setting method and their internal checks were compared. There was a difference in the area of internal checks between the cultivars. Kumotooshi formed a larger area of internal checks, which was thought to be affected by the larger tangential shrinkage of kumotooshi. The number, total length, and total area of internal checks were significantly correlated with tangential shrinkage. The area of internal checks around the pith was also larger for kumotooshi, which might be affected by the larger tangential shrinkage in the core part of kumotooshi. The results supported that tangential shrinkage should be one of the important properties affecting the internal-check variation of sugi boxed-heart square timber.     

Antifungal activity of a novel compound purified from the culture filtrate of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Biscogniauxia</Emphasis> sp. O821 against the rice blast fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Magnaporthe oryzae</Emphasis>

Rice blast is a devastating fungal disease resulting in major losses to rice crops. Owing to continuous acquisition of resistance by the causal fungus, several fungicide chemicals are no longer effective. Therefore, there is a need to identify natural components and develop new agents to control fungal pathogens. We previously demonstrated that the culture filtrate of Biscogniauxia sp. O821 inhibited infection behavior of Magnaporthe oryzae and subsequent blast lesion formation. In the present study, we isolated a new compound, (3aS,4aR,8aS,9aR)-3a-hydroxy-8a-methyl-3,5-dimethylenedecahydronaphto[2,3-b]furan-2(3H)-one (HDFO), from the culture filtrate of Biscogniauxia sp. O821 and determined its molecular weight as 248. The HDFO structure was determined by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy after purification with column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The structure of this antifungal compound was similar to that of alantolactone and isoalantolactone. The growth inhibition zone against M. oryzae in presence of HDFO was observed at Rf 0.5–0.6 on a thin layer chromatography plate. HDFO inhibited conidial germination of M. oryzae in a dose-dependent manner (1–200 ppm). Furthermore, blast lesion formation was significantly suppressed by HDFO at over 5 ppm. These results suggest that HDFO from the culture filtrate of Biscogniauxia sp. O821 can protect rice from rice blast disease caused by M. oryzae. This is the first report that HDFO produced by Biscogniauxia sp. can serve as an antifungal compound against M. oryzae.     

Analysis by numerical experiments of desalinization of a salt-affected paddy field using a rice husk underdrainage system

Paddy and Water Environment - In a monsoon climate, salt accumulates not only in drylands, but also in paddy fields during the dry season. Because natural desalinization by gravitational drainage...     

Alloplasmic effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">B. juncea</Emphasis> on seed characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">B. carinata</Emphasis>

Effects of Brassica napus (N) and B. juncea (J) cytoplasm on seed characteristics of B. carinata (C) were examined. Alloplasmic lines of B. carinata were produced from N × C and J × C hybrids by recurrent backcrossing to the BC₈ generation. Fourteen sets of reciprocal crosses were used. Compared with their euplasmic sibs, alloplasmic B. carinata line seeds with B. napus cytoplasm showed reduced dormancy, higher seed weight, lower germination rate at high temperatures, higher germination rate at low temperatures, and had lower erucic acid and higher linoleic acid contents. Alloplasmic B. carinata line seeds with B. juncea cytoplasm had higher seed weight but lower germination rate than their corresponding euplasmic sibs. These results showed a cytoplasmic effect on seed development, and an influence on seed weight, dormancy, and fatty acid composition. B. carinata was more deleteriously affected by cytoplasm from B. napus than by cytoplasm of B. juncea.     

Dried-bonito aroma components enhance salivary hemodynamic responses to broth tastes detected by near-infrared spectroscopy

To elucidate the effects of aroma from dried bonito (katsuo-bushi) on broth tastes caused by the central integration of flavor, optical imaging of salivary hemodynamic responses was conducted using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). A reconstituted dried bonito flavored broth produced a significantly larger hemodynamic response than the odorless broth taste solutions for 5 of the 10 panelists, who felt that the combination of the aroma with the tastes was congruent. In the remaining 5 panelists who felt the combination incongruent, the flavored broth did not cause the enhancement of response. Moreover, when the odor-active smoky parts were removed from the flavoring, the reconstituted flavoring did not enhance the response in the former five panelists. These results indicate that NIRS offers a sensitive method to detect the effect of specific congruent aroma components from dried-bonito broth on the taste-related salivary hemodynamic responses, dependent on the perceptual experience of the combination of aromas and tastes.     

Evaluation of nitrogen status of agricultural soils in Java,Indonesia

Abstract

To evaluate the content of nitrogen (N) fractions of agricultural soils in Java, Indonesia, in relation to soil type and land use, 46 surface soil samples, 23 from paddy and 23 from upland, were collected throughout Java to include various types of soils. Soil N was separated into four fractions according to form and availability: inorganic extractable nitrogen (Iex-N), fixed ammonium nitrogen (Ifix-N), organic mineralizable nitrogen (Omin-N) and organic stable nitrogen (Osta-N). The total-N content was determined by the dry combustion method. The Iex-N content was determined by extraction with a 2 mol L^?1 potassium chloride (KCl) solution and the Ifix-N content by extraction with an hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acid (HF-HCl) solution after removal of organic-N. The Omin-N content was evaluated as the potentially mineralizable N based on a long-term incubation method. The Osta-N content was calculated as the difference between the contents of total-N and the three other fractions. The total-N content was 2.06 g kg^?1 on average. The contents of Iex-N, Ifix-N, Omin-N and Osta-N were 25.8, 99.1, 103 and 1,832 mg kg^?1, respectively, and corresponded to 1.3, 4.8, 5.0 and 88.9% of the total-N. Hence, available (Iex-N and Omin-N) and stable (Ifix-N and Osta-N) fractions accounted for 6.3% and 93.7% of the total-N, respectively. Correlation analysis indicated that the contents of total-N and Osta-N had positive correlation with (Alo + 1/2Feo) as an index of amorphous minerals (p < 0.01), suggesting strong influence of volcanic materials for the accumulation of organic matter in Java soils. The content of Ifix-N had a positive correlation with nonexchangeable potassium (K) content (p < 0.01), suggesting the contribution of 2:1 clay minerals which can fix both ammonium (NH₄⁺) and K⁺ in their interlayer sites. On the contrary, Omin-N did not have any significant correlation with soil properties, implying the importance of management for the improvement of the available N level in soils, rather than intrinsic soil properties. Soil N status further showed strong topographical trends depending on the elevation where soil developed. The contents of total N, Iex-N, Ifix-N, Omin-N and Osta-N in Java soils were on average 80, 69, 90, 65 and 80% of those in Japanese soils, respectively, suggesting that the soil N level in Java was lower than that in Japan, probably due to accelerated decomposition of organic matter, especially degradable fractions, reflecting high temperature, but that the level was relatively high for tropical soils due to the effect of volcanic materials. In conclusion, these results should be taken into account for the sustainable management of soil N in agricultural fields in Java, Indonesia.     

Improved waterlogging tolerance of barley (Hordeum vulgare) by pretreatment with ethephon

ABSTRACT

Root growth into hypoxic or anoxic waterlogged soil relies on internal aeration in plants. The plant hormone ethylene helps adapt to waterlogging by inducing the formation of aerenchyma, which provides a low-resistance pathway for the transport of oxygen from the shoot to the root apex. Waterlogging-susceptible crops including barley start to form aerenchyma after suffering waterlogging stress. But waterlogging can be fatal if aerenchyma formation is not fast enough. Here, we investigated whether pre-treating barley with ethephon, an ethylene-releasing agrochemical, could improve its tolerance to mimicked waterlogging conditions (using stagnant deoxygenated agar nutrient solution). In barley growing in aerated nutrient solution, ethephon treatment enhanced aerenchyma formation at the root tips and induced the development of shorter and shallower roots. Pre-treating barley leaves also delayed waterlogging-caused whiting and increased the percentages of viable root-tips under waterlogging conditions. However, the pretreatment did not noticeably increase fresh weight or shoot length. Further studies are needed to optimize ethephon treatment conditions to improve barley production under waterlogged conditions.     

Transcriptome analysis of the duodenum in Wistar rats fed a trypsin inhibitor derived from squid viscera

To investigate the effects of oral administration of a trypsin inhibitor (TI), normal Wistar rats were fed a TI derived from squid (Todarodes pacificus) for 10 weeks and gene expression profiles in the duodenum, pancreas, liver, and muscle were then analyzed using DNA microarrays. Although no significant changes could be observed in growth, food intake, tissue weight, or blood tests among the tissues tested, the duodenum showed the most remarkable changes in the global gene expression profile. Significant up-regulation of mRNAs encoding gastrin, gastrokine, cholecystokinin and somatostatin in the duodenum was validated by qPCR analysis. In gene ontology (GO) analysis of the up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), GO terms related to keratinization and innate mucosal defense were enriched (p < 0.001) in the category of biological processes in addition to assumable terms such as regulation of secretion and response to nutrients, vesicle-mediated transport, and so forth. In the same analysis, calcium ion binding was listed at the deepest hierarchy in the category of molecular function. These results indicate that the duodenum responds to TI treatment by a wider range of physiological processes than previously assumed such as keratinocyte differentiation and innate mucosal defense, in which calcium plays a crucial role.