Economic Impact of the Japan–China–USA Free Trade Agreement on Japan using both Static and Dynamic GTAP Models

The Japanese government has been actively involved in so-called mega Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The purpose of this paper is to measure the potential impact of the Japan–China–USA Free Trade Agreement (JCUFTA) on Japan; in particular, on the Japanese agricultural sector using static and dynamic GTAP models. When tariffs are eliminated between Japan, the USA and China, the GDPs of the three countries will all increase, but the impact on the GDPs of the three countries is less than 1% in both static and dynamic models. The results also show that the total value of agricultural production in Japan is expected to decline by more than 10%

Measuring the Potential Economic Impact of a Japan–US Free Trade Agreement: Can It Enable the US to Eliminate Its Trade Deficit in Goods with Japan?

Japan and the US are two major global trading partners that have at times been at odds regarding each other’s international trade policies. In particular, the ongoing US trade deficit in goods with Japan has been one of the primary disputes between Japan and the US. However, the recent withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) sent a clear signal that the US would take a new approach to international trade issues and has potentially paved the way for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the remaining TPP countries, including Japan. This paper contributes to the debate on the potential economic impact of a Japan–US FTA (JUFTA) by evaluating whether it could enable the US to eliminate its trade deficit in goods with Japan. To do this, we measure the potential impact of a JUFTA using a dynamic Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model. We find that a JUFTA is unlikely to enable the US to eliminate its trade deficit in goods with Japan, although the deficit will certainly decrease as a result

Decadal nitrogen addition alters chemical composition of soil organic matter in a boreal forest

Boreal forests store approximately 470 Pg of carbon (C) in the soil, and rates of soil C accumulation are significantly enhanced by long-term nitrogen (N) enrichment. Dissecting the compositional profile of soils could help better understand the potential mechanisms driving changes in C cycling under enriched N conditions.We examined the impacts of long-term N addition on the chemical composition of soil organic matter (SOM) in a mature boreal forest. Two large experimental plots (15 ha each) were established: a control and a fertilised plot. The latter received NH4NO3 fertilizer at an average rate of 75 kg N ha(-1) year for 12 years. While the centre of this plot received the prescribed amounts of fertilizer, the year-to-year variation in distribution of fertilizer around the designated edges of the plot created a gradient in N-loading. Along this gradient, a compositional shift in SOM in the organic horizon was assessed using two methods: pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and solid-state C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (C-13 NMR).Both of these methods revealed that the chemical composition of SOM changed with increasing N loading, with an increased fraction of lignin derivatives (i.e., aromatic, methoxy/N-alkyl C) relative to that of carbohydrate (i.e., 0-alkyl C), accompanied by increased soil C mass (kg m(-2)) at the fertilised plot. Also, the relative abundance of N compounds in the pyrolysis products increased with the N loading, mainly due to increased methyl N-acetyl-alpha(D)-glucosaminide in the F/H horizon, plausibly of microbial origin. Microbial N processing likely contributed to soil accumulation of fertilizer-derived N.Our results corroborate the hypothesis that addition of inorganic N suppresses enzymatic white-rot decomposition relative to non-enzymatic brown-rot oxidation. Taken together, our study suggests that N enrichment leads to a selective accumulation of lignin-derived compounds and points to a key role of such compounds for N-induced SOM accumulation

Idea Creation: Function Synthesis Approach with Simplification and Evaluation

AbstractProduct engineer is being required to design attractive products in a short product development cycle from stakeholder. And, its attraction is influenced a great deal by idea creation in a conceptual design phase of this cycle. On the other hand, K. Yoshioka and H. Hasegawa proposed the FSA (Function Synthesis Approach) to create a combination of a large number of functions in a short period of time. FSA become a conceptual design support tool that combines the PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and the particle method of USIT. However, FSA is only to outputting combination of large numbers of functions. For this reason, there is a need to provide a way to support the conceptual design process systematically. Therefore, this paper proposes a method to systematically support the conceptual design process from the output of the FSA. This systematic process is consisted from two phases. First, the design solution is built by combination of large number of function via using axiomatic design and function structure method. Next, it is evaluated by using UCP (Use Case Points) method. And, this paper described these phases via example to the refrigerator

Revegetation through seeding or planting: A worldwide systematic map

Roughly 2 billion ha of land are degraded and in need of ecological restoration worldwide. Active restoration frequently involves revegetation, which leads to the dilemma of whether to conduct direct seeding or to plant nursery-grown seedlings. The choice of revegetation method can regulate plant survival and performance, with economic implications that ultimately feed back to our capacity to conduct restoration. We followed a peer -reviewed protocol to develop a systematic map that collates, describes and catalogues the available studies on how seeding compares to planting in achieving restoration targets. We compiled a database with the charac-teristics of all retrieved studies, which can be searched to identify studies of particular locations and habitats, objectives of restoration, plant material, technical aspects, and outcomes measured. The search was made in eight languages and retrieved 3355 publications, of which 178 were retained. The systematic map identifies research gaps, such as a lack of studies in the global South, in tropical rainforests, and covering a long time period, which represent opportunities to expand field-based research. Additionally, many studies overlooked reporting on important technical aspects such as seed provenance and nursery cultivation methods, and others such as watering or seedling protection were more frequently applied for planting than for seeding, which limits our capacity to learn from past research. Most studies measured outcomes related to the target plants but avoided measuring general restoration outcomes or economic aspects. This represents a relevant gap in research, as the choice of revegetation method is greatly based on economic aspects and the achievement of restoration goals goes beyond the establishment of plants. Finally, we identified a substantial volume of studies conducted in temperate regions and over short periods (0-5 y). This research cluster calls for a future in-depth synthesis, potentially through meta-analysis, to reveal the overall balance between seeding and planting and assess whether the response to this question is mediated by species traits, environmental characteristics, or technical aspects. Besides identifying research clusters and gaps, the systematic map database allows managers to find the most relevant scientific literature on the appropriateness of seeding vs. planting for particular conditions, such as certain species or habitats

Power Processing for Advanced Power Distribution and Control

A power packet dispatching system is proposed to realize the function of power on demand. This system distributes electrical power in quantized form, which is called power processing. This system has extensibility and flexibility. Here, we propose to use the power packet dispatching system as the next generation power distribution system in self-established and closed system such as robots, cars, and aircrafts. This paper introduces the concept and the required researches to take the power packet dispatching system in practical phase from the total viewpoints of devices, circuits, power electronics, system control, computer network, and bio-inspired power consumption

Carbon-phosphorus cycle models overestimate CO2 enrichment response in a mature Eucalyptus forest.

The importance of phosphorus (P) in regulating ecosystem responses to climate change has fostered P-cycle implementation in land surface models, but their CO2 effects predictions have not been evaluated against measurements. Here, we perform a data-driven model evaluation where simulations of eight widely used P-enabled models were confronted with observations from a long-term free-air CO2 enrichment experiment in a mature, P-limited Eucalyptus forest. We show that most models predicted the correct sign and magnitude of the CO2 effect on ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration, but they generally overestimated the effects on plant C uptake and growth. We identify leaf-to-canopy scaling of photosynthesis, plant tissue stoichiometry, plant belowground C allocation, and the subsequent consequences for plant-microbial interaction as key areas in which models of ecosystem C-P interaction can be improved. Together, this data-model intercomparison reveals data-driven insights into the performance and functionality of P-enabled models and adds to the existing evidence that the global CO2-driven carbon sink is overestimated by models

Design Strategies of Fluorescent Biosensors Based on Biological Macromolecular Receptors

Fluorescent biosensors to detect the bona fide events of biologically important molecules in living cells are increasingly demanded in the field of molecular cell biology. Recent advances in the development of fluorescent biosensors have made an outstanding contribution to elucidating not only the roles of individual biomolecules, but also the dynamic intracellular relationships between these molecules. However, rational design strategies of fluorescent biosensors are not as mature as they look. An insatiable request for the establishment of a more universal and versatile strategy continues to provide an attractive alternative, so-called modular strategy, which permits facile preparation of biosensors with tailored characteristics by a simple combination of a receptor and a signal transducer. This review describes an overview of the progress in design strategies of fluorescent biosensors, such as auto-fluorescent protein-based biosensors, protein-based biosensors covalently modified with synthetic fluorophores, and signaling aptamers, and highlights the insight into how a given receptor is converted to a fluorescent biosensor. Furthermore, we will demonstrate a significance of the modular strategy for the sensor design