On the excitation of resonant double Kelvin waves in the Barents Sea Opening

In the northern Barents Sea Opening (BSO) the K1 tidal energy is predominant in the diurnal tidal frequency band, suggesting the generation of a topographic wave with the K1 tidal frequency. Tidal energy of the K1 component becomes strong where bottom topography undulates in the BSO and the scale of the undulation is close to the wavelength of the K1 wave. An analytical model is developed to investigate the energy enhancement mechanism of the tidally induced topographic wave due to a resonance between tidal current, a topographic wave and periodic topography. The wave excited by the resonance is identified as a resonant double Kelvin wave (DKW) and the significant K1 energy in the BSO could be due to the excitation of the resonant DKW

North Atlantic Water in the Barents Sea Opening, 1997 to 1999

North Atlantic Water (NAW) is an important source of heat and salt to the Nordic seas and the Arctic Ocean. To measure the transport and variability of one branch of NAW entering the Arctic, a transect across the entrance to the Barents Sea was occupied 13 times between July 1997 and November 1999, and hydrography and currents were measured. There is large variability between the cruises, but the mean currents and the hydrography show that the main inflow takes place in Bjørnøyrenna, with a transport of 1.6 Sv of NAW into the Barents Sea. Combining the flow field with measurements of temperature and salinity, this results in mean heat and salt transports by NAW into the Barents Sea of 3.9×1013 W and 5.7×107 kg s?1, respectively. The NAW core increased in temperature and salinity by 0.7 °C yr?1 and 0.04 yr?1, respectively, over the observation period. Variations in the transports of heat and salt are, however, dominated by the flow field, which did not exhibit a significant change

ALSV Vector Substantially Shortens Generation Time of Horticultural Plants

Flowering of plants is tightly regulated by both plant maturity and seasons in the year. Now that the Flowering LocusT (FT) gene has been revealed to encode the flowering hormone florigen, researchers are seeking to regulate and modify flowering behaviours by using florigen as a genetic tool. In place of transgenic approaches, Apple latent spherical virus (ALSV) vector was successful in promoting flowering of both model plants (Arabidopsis and tobacco), and fruit trees (e.g. apple, pear, and loquat), vegetables (e.g. tomato and cucumber), legumes (e.g. soybean), and ornamental flowers (e.g. petunia, Japanese gentian and Eustoma). In so doing, FT was expressed and/or TFL1 was suppressed by the ALSV vector. ALSV is a latent (non-pathogenic) virus isolated from an apple tree. After induction of flowering and seed production in crops, ALSV is not transferred to most of the next-generation seedlings, or it can be artificially removed from the infected plant by incubation at high temperature. Thus, the generation times of horticultural plants are approximately halved, and the generation time of apple plants is substantially shortened to within one year. Hence, ALSV technology is expected to be useful as a part of New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBT) for agricultural application

Accumulation efficiency of degradable matter during the early grain-filling period in rice

The dry weight of cellular contents in the whole rice plant (dWc/dt) is partitioned from the crop growth rate (dW/dt), and the resulting rate represents the accumulation efficiency of degradable matter (dWc/dW). The grain yielding ability and stability are significantly affected by the dry matter partitioning to cell wall during grain filling stage. Comparative studies for dWc/dW during the early grain-filling period were conducted using diverse genotypes of rice varieties in eight experimental fields in Japan, China, and Thailand for 2 yr to develop a simplified process model with submodels for partitioning. Nine rice varieties-2 japonica, 3 indica, indica×japonica, indica×javanica, javanica, and NERICA-were used. dWc/dW was measured by enzymatic analysis. The relationship between dW/dt and the accumulation rate of cellular contents per unit ground area (dWc/dt) was described using a linear regression equation, and the proportionality factor k (slope), which represents accumulation efficiency, was estimated using data from each variety. The k values varied from 0.570 for the traditional indica cv. Ch86 (CH) to 0.765 for the WAB450 line (WA), which is a NERICA variety. High values of dWc/dW were observed in the modern varieties developed by remote crossing [Takanari (TA) and WA]. The average k value from the results of multi-site experiments was 0.681.TA and WA showed high accumulation efficiency by high sink activity under various dW/dts that fluctuated according to environmental conditions at the cultivation sites. Conversely, CH, classified as a "grassy rice" phenotype, formed a cell wall during the early grain-filling period.Article信州大学農学部AFC報告 13: 1-11 (2015)departmental bulletin pape

Public Avoidance and the Epidemiology of novel H1N1 Influenza A

In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared that novel influenza A (nH1N1) had reached pandemic status worldwide. The response to the spread of this virus by the public and by the public health community was immediate and widespread. Among the responses included voluntary avoidance of public spaces, closure of schools, the ubiquitous placement of hand sanitizer, and the use of face masks in public places. Existing forecasting models of the epidemic spread of nH1N1, used by public health officials to aid in making many decisions including vaccination policy, ignore avoidance responses in the formal modeling. In this paper, we build a forecasting model of the nH1N1 epidemic that explicitly accounts for avoidance behavior. We use data from the U.S. summer and the Australian winter nH1N1 epidemic of 2009 to estimate the parameters of our model and forecast the course of the epidemic in the U.S. in 2010. We find that accounting for avoidance responses results in a better fitting forecasting model. We also find that in models with avoidance, the marginal return in terms of saved lives and reduced infection rates of an early vaccination campaign are higher.

Kasagi et al. Reply:

Bremsstrahlung in α Decay of 210Po: Do α Particles Emit Photons in Tunneling?(http://hdl.handle.net/10097/35812)(Comment

Simplified model of dry matter partitioning in relation to grain yield stability in rice

A new partitioning model was developed for evaluating the dynamics of physiologically degradable materials among rice plant organs. Enzymatic analysis was applied by dividing materials into the following two categories : physiologically degradable, which is regulated by the grain filling rate (dWcp/dt) and grain yield stability (cellular contents, CC), and no degradable structural material comprising the plant cell wall, which cannot be recycled. The CC in dry matter in stover (leaf blade＋leaf sheath＋culm) and panicle samples were determined using a mixture of α-amylase and protease. The field experiments were performed using two commercial varieties of japonica for two years from a paddy field in Japan. The percentage of physiologically degradable matter in dry matter in stover (Wcs%) decreased gradually after transplanting time and decreased quickly after heading, and that of panicle (Wcp%) increased drastically after heading. The dry weight of CC in stover (Wcs) increased gradually up to the heading stage and decreased after heading. In contrast, the dry weight biomass of CC in panicle (Wcp) increased after heading and drastically decreased 10 d after heading. The derivations of Wcs and Wcp were calculated for indicating the apparent removal rate from stover to panicle (dWcs/dt), and the grain filling rate was indicated by the term of the fractions of enzymatic analysis. The upper peak of dWcs/dt and the lower peak of dWcs/dt were observed approximately 20 d before heading and 15 d after heading, respectively. The change in dWcs/dt after heading coincided with the change in dWcp/dt. There was a significant negative relationship between dWcs/dt and dWcp/dt, and the regression coefficient (slope) and intercept were estimated at -1.47 and 8.46, respectively. Results suggested that dWcs/dt was a more important and dominant factor for determining dWcp/dt than photosynthesis-governed crop growth rate after heading.Article信州大学農学部AFC報告 13: 13-22 (2015)departmental bulletin pape

Influence of organic fertilizer on rhizome yield and α-tocopherol content of Codonopsis lanceolata

Codonopsis lanceolata (Sieb. et Zucc.) Trautv. is a valuable wild vegetable in East Asian countries, especially Korea. We investigated effects of organic fertilizer application on rhizome yield and quality under Andosol soil conditions in the AFC field of Shinshu University. Commercial barnyard manure, which was fermented with crushed bark and beef cattle dung, and Japanese oak leaf mold were applied at the rates of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 g m-2. Barnyard manure increased the fresh weight yield of rhizomes but decreased the DL-α-tocopherol (vitamin E) content. The rhizome yield was drastically influenced by the C/N ratio of the soil from the surface to 30 cm below ground level that was controlled by the application ratio of barnyard manure to leaf mold. Total N, soluble P, exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg did not significantly affect the rhizome yield. There was a significant negative correlation between the rhizome fresh weight and vitamin E content at harvest time. The highest vitamin E content of 9-10 mg 100 g-1 dry matter was obtained at a leaf mold application rate of 10 g m-1. Nitrogen supply from the soil to plants primarily influenced the yield and quality of rhizomes as vegetables or drugs. The vitamin E content under a higher soil C/N ratio was the highest among commercial vegetables available in common Japanese food markets.Article信州大学農学部AFC報告 10: 1-7(2012)departmental bulletin pape