Landslide History Detected Based on Forest Structure: A Case Study on Mt. Gagara, Higashi-Hiroshima

Variations in tree species composition, tree density, and basal area were studied in relation to microtopography along the hills of Mt. Gagara within the campus of Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, where landslides have occurred frequently. Ten sampling plots with a size of 100 m2 (10 m×10 m) were positioned in upper and lower parts of the hills. Tree density was significantly higher in the lower parts than in the upper parts of the hills (p < 0.001). The density of trees with smaller diameters at breast height (DBH; < 13 cm ) was significantly higher in the lower parts than in the upper parts of the hills (p < 0.001), whereas the density of large- or middlesized trees (DBH ≧ 13 cm) was signifi cantly higher in the upper parts of the hills. The species composition in the lower hills mostly consisted of early successional tree species (e.g., Eurya japonica, Pieris japonica, Ilex pedunculosa, and Rhododendron reticulatum), whereas the upper parts of the hills rarely or never included such species but mainly consisted of late successional tree species (e.g., Symplocos lucida, and Quercus glauca). These trends indicate that forest vegetation on the lower parts of the hills has been disturbed by frequently occurring erosion and landslides, which have resulted in suppressed maturity of forest structure and species succession

Fraying by Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) in an Evergreen Broadleaf Forest in Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan

The fraying by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in an evergreen broadleaf forest in Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan, was studied. The proportion of trees frayed by deer to the total trees sampled (N = 1209) was 8.1%. Our data suggest that sika deer performed fraying on trees irrespective of diameter at breast height. We found that of the 29 tree species examined, 16 were frayed. Cleyera japonica had a significantly higher proportion of trees frayed by sika deer than the average overall proportion, suggesting that the species attracts sika deer for fraying. By contrast, sika deer significantly avoided Pinus densiflora, Lyonia ovalifolia var. elliptica, and Eurya japonica for fraying. Trees frayed were significantly spatially distributed aggregately. The fraying by deer occurred randomly, regardless of slope angles; sika deer can perform fraying even on very steep slopes. Trees on ridges avoided being frayed by deer, however. This may be explained by the presence of the trees that were less favored for sika-fraying performance (Pinus densiflora, Lyonia ovalifolia var. elliptica, and Eurya japonica), which were mainly distributed on ridge sites

Spatiotemporal changes in biomass after selective logging in a lowland tropical rainforest in peninsular Malaysia

We studied biomass changes in a lowland tropical rain forest in the Pasoh Forest Reserve of Peninsular Malaysia after selective logging in 1958. A tree census was undertaken every 2 years from 1998 to 2012 in a 6-ha logged forest plot. Total aboveground biomass (AGB) was 72 % of that in a primary forest plot within the same reserve in 1998, but reached 87 % in 2012. AGB regrowth was spatially variable within the logged forest plot and was much less in swampy areas than in upland areas. The overall annual growth rate of AGB in the logged forest throughout the study period was 1.5 % and slowed (to 0.6 %) in a dry period (2004-2006). The biomass of large trees (DBH ≥ 50 cm) increased by 56 % during the study period, but amounted to only 58 % of the biomass of the corresponding size class in the primary forest, suggesting that stand structure is still recovering from logging. Spatiotemporal variation in AGB recovery after logging needs to be taken into account for logging and subsequent management of the tropical lowland forest biome

DroidTrack: Tracking Information Diffusion and Preventing Information Leakage on Android

Abstract. An app in Android can collaborate with other apps and control personal information by using the Intent or user&apos;s allowing of permission. However, users cannot detect when they communicate. Therefore, users might not be aware information leakage if app is malware. This paper proposes DroidTrack, a method for tracking the diffusion of personal information and preventing its leakage on an Android device. DroidTrack alerts the user of the possibility of information leakage when an app uses APIs to communicate with outside. These alerts are triggered only if the app has already called APIs to collect personal information. Users are given the option to refuse the execution of the API if it is not appropriate. Further, by illustrating how their personal data is diffused, users can have the necessary information to help them decide whether the API use is appropriate

Gap plasmon excitation in plasmonic waveguide using Si waveguide

Plasmonic waveguides have attracted considerable attention for application in highly integrated optical circuits since they can confine light to areas smaller than the diffraction limit. In this context, in order to realize a highly integrated optical circuit, we fabricate and evaluate the optical characteristics of a poly(methyl methacrylate) junction positioned between Si and plasmonic waveguides. For the plasmonic waveguide, we employ a gap plasmonic waveguide in which the energy of the plasmonic wave can be confined in order to reduce the scattering loss at the junction. By experimental measurement, we determine the coupling efficiency between the Si and gap plasmonic waveguides and the propagation length at the gap plasmonic waveguide to be 52.4% and 11.1 µm, respectively. These values agree with those obtained by the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation. We believe that our findings can significantly contribute to the development of highly integrated optical circuits

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ УМЕНЬШЕНИЯ УГЛОВЫХ ПОГРЕШНОСТЕЙ КРУГОВЫХ ОПТИЧЕСКИХ ШКАЛ, ИЗГОТОВЛЕННЫХ СПОСОБОМ ОБРАТНОЙ ФОТОЛИТОГРАФИИ

This paper discusses the possibilities of reducing the angular errors of circular optical scales fabricated by lift-off photolithography, using photomasks synthesized by means of a CLWS-300 laser image generator. © 2013 Optical Society of America

Crry, a complement regulatory protein, modulates renal interstitial disease induced by proteinuria11See Editorial by Quigg, p. 2315

Crry, a complement regulatory protein, modulates renal interstitial disease induced by proteinuria.BackgroundRecent studies have suggested a role for urinary complement components in mediating tubulointerstitial damage, which is known to have a good correlation with progression of chronic renal diseases. Although accumulating evidence suggests that complement regulatory proteins play an important protective role in glomeruli, their role in renal tubules remains unclear. In order to establish the role of a complement regulatory protein, Crry, in renal tubular injury, we employed a molecular biological approach to block the expression of Crry in tubules of animals with proteinuria induced with puromycin aminonucleoside nephritis (PAN).Methods and ResultsTwo different antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) against Crry were designed and applied to cultured rat mesangial cells in vitro in order to establish their efficacy. Antisense ODN treatment resulted in decreased expression of Crry protein associated with increased sensitivity to complement attack in cell lysis assays compared with control ODN treatment or no treatment (44.7, 1.50, and 1.34%, respectively). Antisense ODNs did not affect the expression of Thy1 as a control, confirming the specificity of our ODNs. In vivo, we performed selective right renal artery perfusion to administer antisense ODNs to the kidney and showed prominent uptake of ODNs by proximal tubular cells. Reduced expression of Crry protein was demonstrated in proximal tubular cells in antisense ODNs-treated kidneys. Normal rats treated with the antisense ODNs did not show any pathological changes. However, in PAN, rats with massive proteinuria showed increased deposition of C3 and C5b-9 in tubules in antisense-treated kidneys, and histological assessment revealed more severe tubulointerstitial injury in antisense-treated animals compared with controls.ConclusionThese results establish a pathogenic role for complement in leading to tubulointerstitial injury during proteinuria and, to our knowledge for the first time, show a protective role of a complement regulatory protein, Crry, in renal interstitial disease