Optimum Area of Semi-Natural Grassland to Maintain Maximum Butterfly and Avian Species Richness in Japan

To evaluate the optimum area of semi-natural grassland to maintain maximum butterfly and avian species richness in Japan, digitalized grid data of butterfly and avian distribution, as well as vegetation distribution, throughout the country were used. After obtaining logistic regression models explaining the probabilities of occurrence of each species with semi-natural grassland area and latitude as variables, the optimum value was calculated. The expected maximum species richness of butterflies in the country was the highest in the case of about 40 square kilometers of semi-natural grassland per 100 square kilometers, though the value varied somewhat with latitude. The expected maximum species richness of birds was the highest in the case of about 60 square kilometers of semi-natural grassland per 100 square kilometers. This study showed that the decrease in semi-natural grassland in Japan has resulted in far from ideal conditions for many species

A Study on Scripture Worship in the Kathmandu Valley: An Interim Review with a Prospect of a New Approach for the Philological Study of Sanskrit Buddhism

Even today the culture of Mahayana Buddhism, which originated in ancient India, still remains and is practiced daily in Kathmandu, the capital city of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Among the various cultural events associated with Buddhism that are carried out in Kathmandu, “scripture worship” is particularly of great interest as a subject of study, considering its development into a rite of Buddhist doctrine, it can also be viewed as a representative example that reveals the difficulty of studying a “living culture” that is routinely practiced. This paper first looks at the example of a recitation ritual, Prajñāpāramitāpaṭhana that is conducted in a Buddhist temple named Kwa Baha in the city of Lalitpur (Patan) in the Kathmandu valley. Careful examination in multiple topics, mainly focusing on Nava-Dharma, reveals cultural meanings of this recitation ritual comparing with its doctrinal background. Related matters are also looked at to clarify the positioning of Scripture Worship in Nepalese Buddhism. Following that examination, it introduces a challenge that has been carried out by RNAP(: Rissho-University Nepal Academic-research Project) for pioneering new generation philological study of Nepal Buddhism, taking full advantage of digital format data of newly acquired huge database of unpublished Nepalese manuscripts, the Thapa Collection

Long-Term Field Experiment for Monitoring Soil Carbon Content in Japanese Grasslands: Initial Data from 2010 to 2012

A long-term field experiment for monitoring soil carbon content in Japanese grasslands started in 2010 to investigate the changes in soil carbon content and the effect of composted livestock manure application. We established grassland plots with 3 levels of manure application treatment at 10 sites. Bulk density values in many sites had wide inter-replicate and inter-annual variability. It is reasonable to suppose that the variability in the bulk density reflect spatial variability of physical properties within the grasslands because the annual trends of the bulk density values were not consistent. Organic carbon concentration tended to increase yearly in the surface layer (0–5 cm), whereas those for the subsoil layer (5–30 cm) stayed relatively constant. The organic carbon concentration in the surface layer tended to increase with increasing latitude and the amount of manure applied. When data from all the sites were taken into account, carbon content also tended to increase over time following grassland renovation. These results indicate that Japanese grasslands have the potential to sequester organic carbon. The monitoring has just begun, and it is important to continue the effort to achieve the goals of this study

Emission image of X-ray-irradiated CR-39 stick doped with methylviologen-encapsulated silica nanocapsules using LED light

Light-emitting diode (LED)-light-excited emission images of 6 MeV-X-ray (10 Gy)-irradiated CR-39 doped with methylviologen-encapsulated silica nanocapsules (MV @SiO2 NCs) were observed using an iPhone 5S for the first time. The excitation and fluorescence spectra were also observed, and the emission peak at 580 nm produced by the X-ray irradiation was confirmed. Emission intensities of 80 kV-X-ray (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 Gy)-irradiated CR-39 doped with MV @ SiO2 NCs could be measured using a portable fluorometer (FC-1), and a good linear relationship between their emission intensity and dose was clearly observed