A Comparison of Fermentation Kinetics in the Rumen of Grazing Sheep on a Dwarf Bamboo Pasture and a Grass Pasture

Native grasses grown as forest understory are important forage resources for grazing ruminants and in agroforestry. Dwarf bamboo is one such typical grass and has traditionally been used in Japan. The name “dwarf bamboo” refers to a group of native grasses from certain genera (e.g., Sasa spp. and Pleioblastus spp.). These grasses are generally rhizomatous, perennial, and semi-woody (Usui, 1961). The results of an earlier study suggested that the in sacco ruminal degradation of the dwarf bamboo was inferior to that of a common tropical grass (Yayota et al. 2009), and cattle grazing on a forest pasture dominated by a dwarf bamboo could not satisfy their energy requirement in fall regardless of forage availability (Nakano et al. 2007). However, little information is available about the fermentation kinetics of dwarf bamboo or of many other native forage plants in the rumen. Understanding fermentation kinetics will be useful to improve the utilization of this grass and to plan supple-mental feeding strategies. The objective of this study was to clarify the fermentation kinetics of a dwarf bamboo (Pleioblastus argenteostriatus f. glaber) in the rumen relative to the fermentation kinetics of a common grass

蔬菜水耕栽培の実用化に関する研究 VIII : トマトの生育にともなう培養液濃度の推移と培養液管理方式の検討(農学部門)

間欠給液方式によりトマト品種大型福寿を水耕栽培して, 培養液中の各要素濃度の推移を調べるとともに, 水耕栽培における培養液管理簡易化の一方法として, 定期的にNO_3-Nの残量を分析定量し, その減量に応じて所定の組成の肥料を追加する補給法を試験した。各要素の吸収率は培養液中の濃度と異なり, 補給を続けた結果, N, Ca, Mgは濃縮され, PとKの濃度はさがって生育後期にしばしば0となった。植物体中のPとKの含量, 収量は劣る結果となって, この補給法では培養液中の各要素濃度を適当な範囲に長く保つことは難しいと思われる。Seasonal changes in nutrients concns in the culture soln as affected by the soln renewal method, was studied, on the tomato variety "Ohgata-Fukujyu" water-cultured in intermittently applied soln. Periodical replenishment of nutrient soln, which is one of the renewal methods commonly practiced in commercial water culture, was compared with the complete replacement. The amount of NO_3-N residue was analyzed every two weeks, and the soln was replenished with water and nutrients according to the amount of NO_3-N absorbed by the plant, assuming that the rate at which each nutrient element was absorbed was the same as it had been dissolved in the starting soln. The rates differed considerably with elements and growth stages, and therefore, after repeated replenishing, N, Ca and Mg became concentrated in the soln, while concns of P and K were lowered and often found nil in later stages. P and K contents of the plant and yield were lowered. Replenishing nutrient soln by analyzing solely NO_3-N residue is concluded inadequate to maintain a proper concn of each element in the nutrient soln

Prognostic Nutritional Index and Lung Immune Prognostic Index as Prognostic Predictors for Combination Therapies of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Cytotoxic Anticancer Chemotherapy for Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and cytotoxic chemotherapies (chemoimmunotherapy) is associated with significantly better survival outcomes than cytotoxic chemotherapies alone in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there are no prognostic markers for chemoimmunotherapy. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) are prognostic biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy or cytotoxic chemotherapies. Thus, we aimed to examine whether these factors could also be prognostic markers for chemoimmunotherapy. We retrospectively examined 237 patients with advanced NSCLC treated with chemoimmunotherapy. In the total group, the median overall survival (OS) was not reached, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.6 months. Multivariate analysis of OS and PFS revealed significant differences based on PNI and LIPI. Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) was also significantly associated with OS and PFS. PNI and a PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) of <50% and poor LIPI (regardless of PD-L1 TPS) were associated with poor prognosis. PNI and LIPI predicted survival outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with chemoimmunotherapy, especially in patients with PD-L1 TPS <50%. For patients in this poor category, chemoimmunotherapy may result in a worse prognosis than expected