Lysine decarboxylase-negative Salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis: antibiotic susceptibility, phage and PFGE typing

One hundred twenty Salmonella Enteritidis isolates collected from 1992 to 2005 in Nagasaki prefecture (65 isolates from 40 outbreak cases, 44 from sporadic diarrhea patients, and 11 from chicken-related products) were investigated by their antibiotic susceptibility profiles, phage typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. Out of them, 18 were identified as lysine decarboxylase (LDC)-negative isolates, and 15 showed resistance toward streptomycin. Based on the PFGE typing, the isolates were classified into five clusters by UPGMA clustering method. Three LDC-negative isolates belonged to cluster A and were of phage type (PT) 4 and isolated between 2000 and 2004. Other 15 LDC-negative isolates belonged to cluster E. They were PT1, reacted but did not conform (RDNC), or untypable and were isolated between 2001 and 2004. LDC-negative isolates of the cluster A differed from LDC-negative isolates of the cluster E in antibiotic susceptibility profiles, phage typing, and PFGE typing. LDC-negative isolates of the cluster E were isolated after 2001 in Nagasaki prefecture.     

Profound Survival Program of Forests in Japan Islands a 40 Year Strategy for Environmental Conservation in Inland China

15 years ago an interim report for an intense environmental program was compiled concerning the location of the islands of Japan at the meteorological down stream of the East Asian Countries. Parts of sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants, those supposed to cause acid deposition are emitted from the eastern parts of the Asian continent, especially in China. The air pollutants flow down to the east to spread over these islands. This acid deposition is projected to cause damage to forest resources of Japan in the future by increasing air pollutants emanating from the continent. A long term project by a research group at Keio University commenced in 1985 to identify ways of preventing this damage to the forests. The group formed the JACK Air Surveillance Network in China and South Korea in order to collect the first precise air pollution data in this region, as well as to identify a reliable partner for the project. On the completion of the JACK project, a highly cooperative group was formed between the researchers of Keio University and those in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China and has effectively worked since 1991. The goal of the project is the formation of an Inland Environmental Information Center in inland China to be accomplished by 2005. To launch a 10 year project by the center, a nation wide campaign is planned to raise the awareness of the population, specifically the lower socio-economic group on the effect of environmental issues. It is suggested that this education campaign take effect in inland China no later than 2025 for the preservation of the forests on the Islands of Japan.     

Physiological difference between free and triglyceride-type conjugated linoleic acid on the immune function of C57BL/6N mice

Previous studies have shown the physiological significance of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in various experimental animals and in human beings. One of the important problems to better elucidate is the difference between triglyceride (TG) and free (FFA) dietary CLA. Here, using splenocytes, this study assesses how TG- and FFA-CLA modulate immunoglobulin and various cytokine productions. In this study, C57BL/6N mice were fed an experimental diet containing 0% CLA, 0.1 or 1% FFA-CLA, or 0.1 or 1% TG-CLA for 3 weeks. The production of immunoglobulin tended to be up-regulated by 1% FFA-CLA. As a result of protein array analysis using the supernatant from splenocytes cultured with no CLA, 1% FFA-CLA, and TG-CLA, some cytokine production was shown to be remarkably regulated by dietary FFA- and TG-CLA. A total of 32 cytokines were examined, and 11-14 produced cytokines that were 2-fold up-regulated as compared with control for FFA- or TG-CLA, respectively. Especially, the production of IL-9 and MCP-5 and other cytokines was remarkably up-regulated by both FFA- and TG-CLA. In addition, seven cytokines were 2-fold down-regulated by TG-CLA. These data show that there is a slight but significant difference between the functionalities of FFA- and TG-CLA.     

A method of preparing thin sections of soils with the polyester resin “Polylite”

Morphological studies of soils using microscope, set up by Kubiëna, have been followed and modified especially in recent years in several countries^{2,3,4,6,7,13,16,18,19}. We find that microscopic observation of thin sections of soils is one of the most useful tool for classification of soil characteristics. Although there have been many methods to make thin sections of soils, unfortunately we can find no satisfactory procedures for us.     

Effects of molybdenum application on the yield,nitrogen nutrition and nodule development of soybeans

Field experiments were conducted on a volcanic ash soil with low available Mo and moderate acidity for 4 years to determine thfc responses of soybeans and soybean nodules to Mo application with seed treatment.

Mo application resulted in a 15.7% increase in the average yield of the nodulated varieties over 4 seasons. However, the genetically controlled non-nodulating variety did not respond to Mo under the same experimental conditions. Nodulated plants treated with Mo became increasingly greener from the pre-bloom stage and contained much more N in their tops during the later period of growth and accumulated considerably larger amount of N in seeds produced per unit area. These results are in agreement with the enhancement of N, fixing activity per plant basis during a long period covered from the stage of 2nd trifoliate leaf unfolding to that of seed development. The increase of yield obtained by the Mo application is ascribed to the improvement of N, fixing activity of the root nodules, The enhancement of N, fixing activity was mainly due to a higher activity per unit nodule weight at early itaget and was due to better growth of nodules during the latter half of growth. Nodules on Mo-created plants were characteristically larger size, had lower water contcnt and higher Mo content.

Referring to the data presented by the authors and several other investigators on available Mo in soils, soil pit, and other related factors, discussion is made that the yield response of soybeans to Mo application is expected in a good number of fields in Japan as a result of nodule response leading to the enhancement of symbiotic N, fixation throughout growth.     

Systems for making NIAS Core Collections, single-seed-derived germplasm, and plant photo images available to the research community

The National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) Genebank coordinates the conservation of plant, microorganism, and animal genetic resources related to food and agriculture in Japan. It also coordinates the distribution of genetic resources in the public domain for research, breeding, and educational purposes. To operate the NIAS Genebank efficiently, we have developed a genetic resources database, data management software, and web-based data retrieval systems to make the data available worldwide. This article describes the NIAS Genebank’s Core Collections of global and Japanese soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), Japanese azuki bean (Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi et Ohashi), and Japanese wheat (Triticum aestivum L. s. l.), all of which are available through the Genebank website. This article also describes new features of the NIAS Genebank database, such as the ability to select single-seed-derived germplasm of soybean in the plant search system and to download photographic data on accessions. By using the downloaded plant image PDF files, users can obtain detailed passport and agronomic information by clicking on the image of an accession of interest.     

Significance of litter layer in enhancing mesofaunal abundance and microbial biomass nitrogen in sweet corn-white clover living mulch systems

Living mulch is a type of sustainable farming system that consists of cover crops planted either before or with a main crop; a living mulch is maintained as a living ground cover throughout the growing season of the main crop. Microbial biomass and abundance of mesofauna (microarthropods and enchytraeids) are important soil biological parameters in relation to soil function, plant productivity, and nutrient cycling; however, the effects of living mulch on these parameters are not fully understood. In this study we examined the effects of living mulch treatment with nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 160, or 200?kg?ha^?1) on the abundance of soil microarthropods (Oribatida, Mesostigmata, Prostigmata, and Collembola) and the effects of living mulch treatment on the dynamics of the soil biota (mesofauna, microarthropods, enchytraeids, and microbial biomass nitrogen) from spring to autumn. Our results showed that living mulch treatment significantly (p?p?相似文献   

Effect of photoperiods before,during and after vernalization on flower initiation and development and its varietal difference in Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum L.)

Summary

To control the bolting of Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum L.) photoperiodically, the effect of photoperiods before, during and after vernalization on flower initiation and development and the varietal differences were investigated using the two mid-season flowering cvs Kincho and Asagi-kujo, and a late-season flowering cv. Cho-etsu. A long-day photoperiod (LD, 16 h) given before vernalization inhibited flower initiation. Especially, the bolting rate of ‘Asagi-kujo’ decreased by about a half, compared with the short-day photoperiod (SD, 8 h). The interaction between the effect of night temperature (3°C, 7°C, 11°C or 15°C) and the effect of the photoperiod (SD and LD) during vernalization was also investigated. In ‘Kincho’, LD did not affect flower initiation at 3°C, but inhibited flower initiation at 7°C, 11°C and 15°C. In ‘Asagi-kujo’, flower initiation was significantly inhibited by LD under all temperature conditions. This inhibitory effect was stronger at 11°C and 15°C than at 3°C and 7°C. In ‘Cho- etsu’, LD significantly inhibited flower initiation at 3°C and 7°C, and flower initiation rarely occurred at 11°C and 15°C. In this study, generally, LD during vernalization inhibited flower initiation in all cultivars. Thus Japanese bunching onion required a short-day photoperiod in flower initiation, which was stronger in ‘Asagi-kujo’ and ‘Cho-etsu’ than in ‘Kincho’. From these results, we conclude that low temperature and a short-day photoperiod complementarily induce flower initiation in Japanese bunching onion. Varietal differences exist in the requirement of low temperature and a short-day photoperiod: the primary requirement in ‘Kincho’ is low temperature and that in ‘Asagi-kujo’ is a short-day. After flower initiation, the early stage of flower development is day-neutral, and after the floret formation stage, a long-day photoperiod promotes flower development and elongation of the seedstalk.