A Model Analysis of Transport of Sulfur Oxides in China and Outflow to the Sea

A numerical analysis of modeled long-range transport of sulfur oxides in the continental areas of East Asia with some verification was introduced. Although several modeling studies on acidic deposition in East Asia have been done, only few cases have verified in wide areas. In this study, the model calculation has been compared with the monthly averaged sulfur concentration in precipitation observed at 69 locations widely covering China from July 1992 through January 1993. Additionally, the atmosphericSO₂ ⁹⁰Sr concentration along the east coast of the continent was also compared with the observation in May 1993, and found to be reasonably consistent. Basing on these comparisons, the budget of sulfur oxides in China, especially about the outflow from the east coast to the sea areas was examined considering the seasonal variation of distribution of wet deposition and the pathways of atmospheric sulfur oxides. The seasonal variation of these indices was found to have large difference between the north and the south of 35°N. The outflow from the east coast increased remarkably in winter due to the decrease of deposition in the inland areas along the transport pathways.     

TOTAL POTASSIUM IN SOILS BY RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS

The beta- and gamma-analysis methods were fully tested on nineteen British soils; ‘marker’ gamma photo-peaks of daughter-elements were used for estimating Th and U, and the 1.46 MeV^?40K photo-peak for K. The photo-peaks for Th and U that give values for the K contents of the soil closest to the chemically determined values are ²⁰⁸Tl(ThC″)–2.615 MeV and ²¹⁴Bi(RaC)+–0.609 MeV respecively. Reasonable values for the Th content of these soils are obtained by this method, but U contents seem to be considerably overestimated.     

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in ribosomal protein L27a gene with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

Marbling, defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. The c2‐11#2 expressed sequence tag (EST) has been previously shown to possess expression difference in musculus longissimus muscle between low‐marbled and high‐marbled steer groups, and to be located within genomic region of a quantitative trait locus for marbling. Thus, the ribosomal protein L27a (RPL27A) gene containing the c2‐11#2 EST sequence was considered as a positional candidate for the gene responsible for marbling. In the present study, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of the RPL27A, referred to as g.3109537C>T, was detected between the 2 steer groups. The SNP was associated with the predicted breeding value for beef marbling standard number by the analyses using Japanese Black beef cattle population. The effect of genotypes of the SNP on the predicted breeding value for subcutaneous fat thickness was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the RPL27A SNP may be useful for effective marker‐assisted selection to increase the levels of marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle.     

Total selenium content of agricultural soils in Japan

To evaluate the selenium (Se) level in agricultural soils in Japan and to investigate its determining factors, 180 soil samples were collected from the surface layer of paddy or upland fields in Japan and their total Se contents were determined. Finely ground soil (50 mg) was wet-digested with HNO₃ and HClO₄ solution and the released Se was reduced to Se(IV). The concentration of Se(IV) was then determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector after treatment with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene and extraction with cyclohexane. The total Se content ranged from 0.05 to 2.80 mg kg⁻¹ with geometric and arithmetic means of 0.43 and 0.51 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The overall data showed a log-normal distribution. In terms of soil type, volcanic soils and peat soils had relatively high Se content and regosols and gray lowland soils had relatively low Se content. In terms of land use, upland soils had significantly higher Se content than paddy soils. Among regions, soils in the Kanto, Tohoku, Hokkaido and Kyushu regions had relatively high content. The total Se content had a significant positive correlation with the organic carbon content ( P  < 0.01) and the equation for the estimation of total Se content with organic carbon suggested that on average approximately 48% (0.24 mg kg⁻¹) of the total Se was in inorganic forms and approximately 52% (0.25 mg kg⁻¹) was in organic forms. Soil pH, on the contrary, did not show a significant relationship with the total Se content. In conclusion, the organic matter content, in combination with volcanic materials, was the main determining factor of the total Se content of agricultural soils in Japan.     

Pathological findings of Japanese Black Cattle living in the restricted area of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, 2013–2016

Fifty‐one Japanese black cattle from four farms in the evacuation zone of the Fukushima nuclear accident were examined pathologically during the period, 2013–2016. We found no evidence of a radiation effect on pathological findings in any of these autopsy cases, although nine cases (3.7%) of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) and three cases (1.2%) of goiter were diagnosed. Estimated integrating dose of external exposure in EBL cases ranged from a maximum of 1200 mSv to a minimum of 72 mSv. Clinically, five cases showed wobble, dysstasia or paralysis. Exophthalmos was observed in three cases. Macroscopically, enlarged lymph nodes, multiple irregular masses of intra‐abdominal and intrapelvic adipose tissue, diffuse thickening of the abomasal submucosa with ulceration, and numerous white nodules of myocardium were observed. Histologically, neoplastic lymphoid cells were extensively proliferated and infiltrated in the lesions. Lymphoid tumor cells showed mature or large lymphoblastic appearance. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for BLA‐36, CD20 and CD5, and negative for CD3. Three cases showed diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland with no mass or nodule lesion. Histologically, diffuse proliferation of follicular epithelium was observed with preservation of normal structures. There were no malignant findings such as cellular atypia or invasion to capsule.     

Relationships among muscle fiber type composition,fiber diameter and MRF gene expression in different skeletal muscles of naturally grazing Wuzhumuqin sheep during postnatal development

The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among muscle fiber‐type composition, fiber diameter, and myogenic regulatory factor (MRF) gene expression in different skeletal muscles during development in naturally grazing Wuzhumuqin sheep. Three major muscles (i.e. the Longissimus dorsi (LD), Biceps femoris (BF) and Triceps brachii (TB)) were obtained from 20 Wuzhumuqin sheep and 20 castrated rams at each of the following ages: 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months. Muscle fiber‐type composition and fiber diameter were measured using histochemistry and morphological analysis, and MRF gene expression levels were determined using real‐time PCR. In the LD muscle, changes in the proportion of each of different types of fiber (I, IIA and IIB) were relatively small. In the BF muscle, a higher proportion of type I and a 6.19‐fold lower proportion of type IIA fibers were observed (P < 0.05). In addition, the compositions of type I and IIA fibers continuously changed in the TB muscle (P < 0.05). Moreover, muscle diameter gradually increased throughout development (P < 0.05). Almost no significant difference was found in MRF gene expression patterns, which appeared to be relatively stable. These results suggest that changes in fiber‐type composition and increases in fiber size may be mutually interacting processes during muscle development.     

Growth and root sucker ability of field-grown transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase

Xyloglucan is thought to be a key hemicellulose cross-linking adjacent cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls. The growth traits of transgenic poplars (Populus alba) with decreased xyloglucan from overexpression of Aspergillus aculeatus xyloglucanase were characterized during a 4-year field trial. The field-trial site consisted of two blocks, a fertile soil block and a non-fertile soil block, determined by soil analysis. In the fertile block, the growth of aboveground biomass of the transgenic poplars was reduced to 24?C44?% compared to that of wild-type poplars, in contrast to the growth seen in chamber and greenhouse conditions. In the non-fertile block, the aboveground biomass of transgenic poplars was also smaller than that of the wild-type poplars. Because poplars reproduce asexually by root suckers, we also compared the formation of root suckers from transgenic and wild-type poplars. Root suckers formed less frequently from transgenic poplars than from wild-type poplars. The growth rates of root suckers from transgenic poplars were also slower than those from wild-type poplars. The results showed that constitutive degradation of xyloglucan impairs poplar growth and vegetative reproduction ability.     

高丹草品种主要农艺性状的比较研究

在日本北海道气候条件下,对6个高丹草品种的生长适应性及主要农艺特性进行了研究.田间观察6个品种生长势强,均能适应当地气候条件,但在生物学及生产性能方面品种间存在差异.发育前期及后期生长速度快的品种为Mnqsi No.1和Mnqsi No.2,最慢的品种为Greensorgo和Raceysorgo,品种Grenn-A在发育后期生长较快,Sudancums次之.Greensorgo和Raceysorgo为早熟型品种,Mnqsi No.1、Mnqsi No.2和Green-A均为晚熟型品种,Sudancums为中熟型品种.株高、鲜草产量顺次为:Mnqsi No.1＞Green-A＞Mnqsi No.2＞Sudancums＞Greensorgo＞Raceysorgo;茎粗、茎叶比顺次为:Green-A＞Sudancums＞Greensorgo Mnqsi No.2＞Raceysorgo＞Mnqsi No.1;分蘖能力顺次为:Mnqsi No.2＞Mnqsi No.1＞Sudancums＞Raceysorgo＞Green-A Greensorgo.穗型及叶片特征品种间有一定差异.     

Detection of a quantitative trait locus for intramuscular fat accumulation using the OLETF rat

The Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat is an animal model for obese type 2 diabetes. We showed that the OLETF rat exhibits higher levels of intramuscular fat content in Musculus longissimus as compared to the Fischer-344 (F344) rat. Our investigation was designed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to the increased levels of intramuscular fat content by performing a whole-genome search using 108 F2 intercross obtained by mating the OLETF and the F344 rats. We identified one QTL responsible for intramuscular fat accumulation on rat chromosome 1 with a maximum lod score of 3.4, which accounts for 5% of the total variance. As expected, the OLETF allele corresponds to the increased levels of intramuscular fat content.     

Pathogenic Races of Phakopsora pachyrhizi on Soybean and Wild Host Plants Collected in Japan

A total of 45 single uredinial isolates of Phakopsora pachyrhizi were collected from rust-infected soybean and wild host plants (Pueraria lobata and G. soja ) at different localities in central and southwestern Japan. Eighteen pathogenic races were identified using a set of differential varieties composed of nine cultivars of soybean and two accession lines of G. soja. Nine and 11 races were found on soybean and wild host plants, respectively. Two races were common to soybean and wild host plants. Received 27 April 2001/ Accepted in revised form 22 August 2001