Relationships between ammonia oxidizers and N2O and CH4 fluxes in agricultural fields with different soil types

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the destruction of stratospheric ozone, and agricultural soil is an important source of N₂O. Aerobic soils are sinks for atmospheric methane (CH₄), a greenhouse gas. Ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) can oxidize CH₄, but CH₄ is mostly oxidized by methane monooxygenase (MMO), and CH₄ oxidation by AMO is generally negligible in the soil. We monitored the N₂O and CH₄ fluxes after urea application in fields containing different soils using an automated sampling system to determine the effects of environmental and microbial factors on the N₂O and CH₄ fluxes. The soil types were Low-humic Andosol (Gleyic Haplic Andosol), yellow soil (Gleyic Haplic Alisol) and gray lowland soil (Entric Fluvisol). Cumulative N₂O emissions from the yellow soil were higher than those from other soil types, although the difference was not significant. The CH₄ uptake level by Andosol was one order of magnitude higher than that by other soils. There were significant relationships between the ammonia oxidation potential, AOB and AOA amoA copy numbers, and the CH₄ uptake. In contrast, the gene copy numbers of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) pmoA were below the detection limit. Our results suggested that the AMOs of AOB and AOA may have more important roles than those previously considered during CH₄ oxidation in agricultural soils treated with N fertilizers.     

Anti-Influenza Virus Activity of Adlay Tea Components

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Our previous study showed anti-influenza virus activity in adlay tea prepared from adlay seeds, naked barley seeds, soybean, and cassia seeds. In this study, we...     

Ecological cycle of thermostable direct hemolysin-producing strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in a brackish-water area with special reference to molluscs and attached microalgae.

Prevalences of thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)-producing strains in communities of a gastropod mollusc. Clithon retropictus, and a bivalve mollusc, Corbicula japonica, and levels of the strains in attached microalgae and muddy sediments were investigated at a brackish-water area along Hashizu Creek and Togo Pond in Japan, V. parahaemolyticus was detected from attached microalgae at Hashizu Creek in summer months with the highest level of 1.4 x 10(5) cfu/g. Levels of the organism among 20 animals of C. retropictus and C. japonica at the area varied betwen non-detectable level and 10(3) per mollusc in summer months. TDH was detected from culture supernatants of 11-16% of strains isolated from the algae, sediments and C. japonica and 28% of those isolated from C. retropictus at Hashizu Creek. These evidences suggest that C. retropictus would get TDH-positive strains from the algae.     

Synthesis and insect antifeedant activity of aurones against Spodoptera litura larvae

A series of aurones were prepared from various phenols via phenoxy acetic acids and coumaranones and evaluated for insect antifeedant activity against the common cutworm (Spodoptera litura). The naturally occurring aurone was most active at an ED50 of 0.12 micromol/cm2. The synthetic precursor, coumaranones, showed that the introduction of methoxyl and methyl groups to the benzene ring increased insect antifeedant activity. Similarly, the tested aurones showed that the introduction of methoxyl group to the A and/or B rings increased the insect antifeedant activity, but 4,5,6- and 3',4',5'-trisubstituted compounds did not show this activity in this test. The hydroxylation of aurones in the B ring should be disadvantageous for insect antifeedant activity against S. litura. Although the melting points did not correlate well with the insect antifeedant activity, compounds that were nearly inactive had high melting points. A significant correlation was noted between biological activity (pED50) and a hydrogen-bonding parameter calculated from the Rf value obtained from SiOH thin-layer chromatography and a lipophilicity parameter (log k) calculated from the retention time in ODS high-performance liquid chromatography. The respective correlation coefficients (r) were -0.83 and -0.70. The introduction of alkoxy and alkyl groups along with adequate hydrogen bonding seems to contribute to the antifeedant activity of the compounds tested.     

Suppression of debris movement by forests and damage to forests by debris deposition

 Forest buffer zones have recently been introduced in an attempt to suppress debris movement caused by mass wasting. There are, however, many questions left unsolved regarding the role of forests in suppressing debris movement and damage to forests by debris deposition. A number of debris avalanches occurred in southern Fukushima Prefecture and Hiroshima Prefecture in August 1998 and June 1999, respectively. Suppression of debris movement by forests and damage to forests by debris deposition were investigated in this study using aerial photographic interpretation and topographic analysis. Of the debris avalanches delineated in the Fukushima and Hiroshima areas, 282 and 84 sites, respectively, were forested, and 43 and seven sites, respectively, were nonforested. Topographic parameters, land use, and forest type at each site were surveyed by aerial photographic interpretation and topographic analysis. Suppression of debris movement by forest vegetation was confirmed by higher equivalent coefficients of friction and shorter average deposition zone length (about 28% and 55% shorter in the Fukushima and Hiroshima areas, respectively) in forested sites compared with nonforested sites. While previous studies suggested that the width of the forest zone required to prevent sediment outflow by surface erosion increases with increasing slope gradient, no clear relationship was found in this study. While the length of deposition zone of debris material (this study) is strongly affected by the dynamic solid friction coefficient and fluid friction of debris material, the length of deposition zone of the outflow of surface wash (past studies) is mainly affected by the tractive force of water flow. Among the 65 trees that remained at the terminus of deposition zones at five sites, 36 were alive and 29 were dead. Damage to the forest increases with increasing thickness of deposits and decreases with increasing tree diameter. Such results are useful for designing forest buffer zones. Received: June 18, 2001 / Accepted: August 21, 2002 Correspondence to:Y. Ishikawa     

Fish Oil N-3 Fatty Acids Increase Adiponectin and Decrease Leptin Levels in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as an important cause of death in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Reduced adiponectin and elevated leptin levels may contribute to CVD in SLE patients. The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of fish oil (FO) on adiponectin and leptin in patients with SLE. Biochemical and disease activity analysis were performed. Patients with SLE were divided in two groups: patients who used fish oil for four months and patients who did not use fish oil. Patients with SLE who used FO had a significant decrease in SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score (p ˂ 0.023) in relation to baseline. SLE patients who used fish oil had increased adiponectin levels (p ˂ 0.026) and decreased leptin levels (p ˂ 0.024) compared to baseline values, whereas there were no differences in adiponectin and leptin levels in patients with SLE who did not use fish oil. In conclusion, the findings of increased serum adiponectin an decreased leptin levels after 120 days in the fish oil group, reinforce the importance of evaluating prospective studies of fish and fish oil fish ingestion on these adipokines in an attempt to decrease cardiovascular risk factors in patients with SLE.     

RAPD Polymorphism of the White-Flowered Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. Landraces and its Wild Relatives in Kenya

The present study was performed to investigate genetic diversity of Kenyan landraces of the white-flowered gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), which exhibits tremendous morphological variation. RAPD analyses were performed on 53 landraces of the cultivated species L. siceraria and 42 accessions of three wild species (40 L. sphaerica, 1 L. abyssinica, and 1 L. breviflora). A total of 432 polymorphic bands were detected using 54 primers. The four species were clearly differentiated from one another. Intra-specific variations were investigated with L. siceraria and its wild relative L. sphaerica. Landraces of the cultivated species collected from different ethnic communities or regions were differentiated. Morphological variations were not associated with RAPD variations. Bitter landraces collected in Maasai communities showed two specific RAPD bands. In the wild species, accessions collected from the eastern and western sides of the Great Rift Valley were genetically differentiated from each other. In both species, genetic and geographical distance matrices computed among all pairs of accessions were significantly correlated, implying that the observed geographical variation can be explained by the 'Isolation by distance model'. Progeny plants derived from a common mother in L. siceraria showed a low level of segregation in RAPD pattern, suggesting that collected landraces are cultivated, maintaining their inherent traits although they are monoecious and insect-pollinated, whereas the wild relative L. sphaerica showed a higher level of segregation. The morphological diversity observed among landraces of L. siceraria is the result of human selection and their genetic identities are maintained by inbreeding probably resulting from frequent self-pollination.     

Very long baseline interferometric observations made with an orbiting radio telescope

An orbiting spacecraft and ground observatories have been used to obtain interferometric observations of cosmic radio sources. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) was used as the orbiting observatory in conjunction with two 64- meter radio telescopes at ground observatories, one in Australia and one in Japan. The quasars 1730-130 (NRAO 530), 1510-089, and 1741-038 were observed at a frequency of 2.3 gigahertz, and a maximum projected baseline of 1.4 earth diameters was achieved. All quasar observations for which valid data were acquired resulted in detected fringes. Many of the techniques proposed for a dedicated very long baseline interferometry observatory in space were used successfully in this experiment.