Yields from Rice Plants Cultivated under Tree Canopies in Rainfed Paddy Fields on the Central Plain of Laos

Many trees are left uncut in the paddy fields of many villagers in central Laos. Yields of rice in rainfed paddy fields interspersed with trees in central Laos were investigated in relation to shading and soil fertility from trees. Grain yield of rice plants cultivated in close proximity to tree trunks (CTP) was higher than that of the plants cultivated far away from the tree trunks (FTP) in 5 fields but lower in 7 fields. The effects of individual trees on rice yield varied among trees of the same species over the course of the three-year study period. No relationship was observed between the changes in photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) due to interception by the tree and the ratio of grain yield of CTP to that of FTP. A significant negative relationship was observed between grain yield of FTP and the ratio of grain yield of CTP to that of FTP, suggesting that yield of CTP under some trees is not lower than that of FTP when the latter was low

Violet Light Exposure Can Be a Preventive Strategy Against Myopia Progression

Prevalence of myopia is increasing worldwide. Outdoor activity is one of the most important environmental factors for myopia control. Here we show that violet light (VL, 360–400 nm wavelength) suppresses myopia progression. First, we confirmed that VL suppressed the axial length (AL) elongation in the chick myopia model. Expression microarray analyses revealed that myopia suppressive gene EGR1 was upregulated by VL exposure. VL exposure induced significantly higher upregulation of EGR1 in chick chorioretinal tissues than blue light under the same conditions. Next, we conducted clinical research retrospectively to compare the AL elongation among myopic children who wore eyeglasses (VL blocked) and two types of contact lenses (partially VL blocked and VL transmitting). The data showed the VL transmitting contact lenses suppressed myopia progression most. These results suggest that VL is one of the important outdoor environmental factors for myopia control. Since VL is apt to be excluded from our modern society due to the excessive UV protection, VL exposure can be a preventive strategy against myopia progression

Streamlining the chemoenzymatic synthesis of complex N-glycans by a stop and go strategy

Contemporary chemoenzymatic approaches can provide highly complex multi-antennary N-linked glycans. These procedures are, however, very demanding and typically involve as many as 100 chemical steps to prepare advanced intermediates that can be diversified by glycosyltransferases in a branch-selective manner to give asymmetrical structures commonly found in nature. Only highly specialized laboratories can perform such syntheses, which greatly hampers progress in glycoscience. Here we describe a biomimetic approach in which a readily available bi-antennary glycopeptide can be converted in ten or fewer chemical and enzymatic steps into multi-antennary N-glycans that at each arm can be uniquely extended by glycosyltransferases to give access to highly complex asymmetrically branched N-glycans. A key feature of our approach is the installation of additional branching points using recombinant MGAT4 and MGAT5 in combination with unnatural sugar donors. At an appropriate point in the enzymatic synthesis, the unnatural monosaccharides can be converted into their natural counterpart, allowing each arm to be elaborated into a unique appendage