Experimental Investigation of the Cs Behavior in the Cesiated H- Ion Source During High Power Long Beam Operation

The behavior of the Cesium (Cs) in the Cs-seeded negative ion sources has been investigated experimentally under the beam accelerations of up to 0.5 MeV. The pulse length was extended to 100 s to catch the precise variations of the Cs D2 emission, discharge power, negative ion current and temperatures in the ion source. The variations of the negative ions were estimated by the beam current and the heat loads in the accelerator. This experiment shows that the buildup of temperature in the chamber walls lead to the evaporation of deposited Cs to enter the plasma region and influence the H- ion production. The H- ion beams were sustained stably by reducing the temperature rise of the chamber wall below 50 ℃. A stable long pulse beam could be achieved through the temperature control of the surfaces inside the source chamber walls

Prognostic Impact of Genetic Polymorphism in Mineralocorticoid Receptor and Comorbidity With Hypertension in Androgen-Deprivation Therapy

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signaling which is closely associated with hypertension plays important roles in resistance to antiandrogen therapy in prostate cancer. However, its impact on the prognosis in androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has not been elucidated. Then, we investigated the impact of genetic variation in MR and comorbidity with hypertension on the prognosis in ADT. This study included 182 Japanese patients with prostate cancer treated with ADT, whose comorbidity status with hypertension were available. The associations of MR polymorphism (rs5522) and comorbidity with hypertension with clinicopathological parameters as well as progression-free survival and overall survival were examined. Clinicopathological characteristics were comparable between genetic variation in MR. However, homozygous variant in MR was associated with shorter time to castration resistance (P = 0.014) and any-cause death (P = 0.024). In patients' background, presence of comorbidity with hypertension showed the trend with lower PSA level at diagnosis and lower biopsy Gleason score, as well as significant association with less incidence of N1. Comorbidity with hypertension was associated with longer time to castration resistance (P = 0.043) and any-cause death (P = 0.046), which was diminished on multivariate analysis including age, PSA level at diagnosis, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage, and the modality of hormonal therapy. Genetic variation in MR (rs5522) and comorbidity with hypertension were significantly and potentially associated with prognosis when treated with ADT, respectively. This suggests that the individual intensity of MR signaling may be associated with resistance to ADT and a promising biomarker in ADT

Genetic variability of drought-avoidance root traits in the mini-core germplasm collection of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Extensive and deep root systems have been recognized as one of the most important traits for improving chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) productivity under progressively receding soil moisture conditions. However, available information on the range of variation for root traits is still limited. Genetic variability for the root traits was investigated using a cylinder culture system during two consecutive growth seasons in the mini-core germplasm collection of ICRISAT plus several wild relatives of chickpea. The largest genetic variability was observed at 35 days after sowing for root length density (RLD) (heritability, h 2 = 0.51 and 0.54) across seasons, and followed by the ratio of plant dry weight to root length density with h 2 of 0.37 and 0.50 for first and second season, respectively. The root growth of chickpea wild relatives was relatively poor compared to C. arietinum, except in case of C. reticulatum. An outstanding genotype, ICC 8261, which had the largest RLD and one of the deepest root system, was identified in chickpea mini-core germplasm collection. The accession ICC 4958 which was previously characterized as a source for drought avoidance in chickpea was confirmed as one with the most prolific and deep root system, although many superior accessions were also identified. The chickpea landraces collected from the Mediterranean and the west Asian region showed a significantly larger RLD than those from the south Asian region. In addition, the landraces originating from central Asia (former Soviet Union), characterized by arid agro-climatic conditions, also showed relatively larger RLD. As these regions are under-represented in the chickpea collection, they might be interesting areas for further germplasm exploration to identify new landraces with large RLD. The information on the genetic variability of chickpea root traits provides valuable baseline knowledge for further progress on the selection and breeding for drought avoidance root traits in chickpea

Genetic improvements for high yield and low soil nitrogen tolerance in rice (Oryza Sativa L.) under a cold environment

Eight rice cultivars released in 1905, 1919, 1941, 1954, 1971, 1984, 1987 and 1988 were investigated to identify the traits that contributed to high yield and low soil nitrogen tolerance breeding under cold environment. They were grown in fields at three different nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatments, 0, 6 and 12 g N m(-2) (0 N, 6 N and 12 N) in Sapporo, Northern Japan, in 2001 and 2002. All cultivars; increased their grain yield (GY) with the increase in soil N availability, and better response to N was observed in modern cultivars; released during 1984-1988 compared to old ones (1905-1954). Irrespective of N treatments, the modern cultivars showed better GY than the older ones. Absolute genetic gain was 2.15 or 2.94 g m(-2) year(-1) at 6 N and 12 N. Under 0 N treatment, although the magnitude of yield increase was small, the genetic gain in GY was still observed at 0.78 g m(-2) year(-1). The GY increments were achieved mainly through increasing the number of spikelets (SPK) which depends on the number of panicle (PAN) at any level, and the PAN could be increased by enhancing the number of tillers. The extinction coefficient (k) showed that the older cultivars had a spreading plant type, on the other hand, the modern cultivars had an erect plant type which seemed to be a better plant structure in terms of light distribution. This change on plant structure would allow the modern cultivars to have a larger LAI with improved light capturing resulting in better GY in modern cultivars; than the old cultivars having similar LAI with modern cultivars. These breeding strategies could work for the high-yielding rice breeding program under cold environments irrespective of soil nitrogen conditions

Strontium adsorption and penetration in kaolinite at low Sr²⁺concentration

Behavior of radioactive strontium (Sr2+) in contaminated soils is an important issue in relation to nuclear power plant accidents. The Sr2+ adsorption on kaolinite and its migration in a kaolinite soil were investigated because toxic effects of radioactive Sr2+ have been found to be very severe for living organisms at low Sr2+ concentrations. Adsorption isotherms of Sr2+ on kaolinite at different salt (NaCl) concentration and pH were obtained by the batch method. The calculated distribution coefficients (KD) ranged between 600 and 40,000 L kg−1, which showed a strong preference for the adsorbed phase. The results were used to evaluate the ratio (r) of penetration length of Sr2+ relative to that of water in a model kaolinite soil. When the Sr2+ solution was percolated constantly into the kaolinite soil, the penetration of Sr2+ was delayed strongly at low Sr2+ concentration due to adsorption. The Sr2+ penetration length was only 0.001–0.056 of the water penetration length at pH 6.5 (0.1–10 mmol L−1 NaCl). At pH 4.1 (1 mmol L−1 NaCl) the effect was about 17 times less than at pH 6.5 (1 mmol L−1 NaCl). Under all conditions, the Sr2+ penetration increased when the Sr2+ concentration increased due to the KD decrease. The Sr2+ isotherms could be fitted well to the Langmuir adsorption equation, which indicates that only one site type is involved in the Sr2+ adsorption