Fine soil particle aggregation in ultra-fine bubble irrigated paddy fields

The flotation method of ultra-fine bubbles (UFB) aims to address pollution and has been used for combating the undesirable reducibility of paddy soils. Hence, water containing UFB is gaining increasing attention for potential agricultural applications. Although certain hypotheses have been proposed, such as the collection of ions in water through the electrical characteristic of UFB, no clear experimental data have been provided. We found that improvement in turbidity may cause the adsorption of fine soil particles in the water by the UFB, thereby improving the quality of the water. The data from the paddy field showed that a decrease in turbidity (below 2 nephelometric turbidity units) occurred over a short period of time (3 days). UFB concentration is directly related to turbidity with a coefficient of determination of 0.93. This phenomenon was also observed through the distribution of bubbles and soil particles, where the average particle size increased because of the aggregation of soil particles and the decrease in turbidity in the paddy field, indicating that UFB collect soil particles and thereby improve water quality. Therefore, UFB are highly effective in cleaning rice field water and will be a preferred method for purifying the environment in the future

Effect of flag leaf length of erect panicle rice on the canopy structure and biomass production after heading

Increasing the yield potential of rice (Oryza sativa) is the main objective of breeders and cultivators engaged in rice improvement programs. Erect panicle (EP) rice is generally high-yielding with panicles that remain non-curved until maturation. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of agronomic traits with rice productivity in EP rice. Here, we used the recombinant inbred lines (RILs), crosses between Liaojing5 (erect panicle japonica type) and Wanlun422 (high-yielding indica type). The yield varied among the RILs, and the flag leaf length of EP RILs was negatively correlated with the yield; however, the correlation was not significant in the non-EP RILs. The flag leaf length of the EP RILs was also negatively correlated with biomass increase during the late ripening stage. This may reflect the canopy structure of the EP RILs with short flag leaves which had a larger leaf area index in the lower strata. Additionally, the chlorophyll content in the lower leaf significantly differed among the EP RILs with flag leaves of different lengths, resulting in a higher photosynthetic ability of the lower leaf of EP RILs with short flag leaves. In the present study, an EP line, which has the shortest flag leaf, showed a higher yield than Wanlun422 in both years. EP RILs with short flag leaves might show a higher canopy photosynthetic rate in the later ripening stage; therefore, this trait could be a potential phenotypic marker for achieving high yield of EP rice

Decreased Wave V Amplitude in Auditory Brainstem Responses of Children with Cerebellar Lesions

【Background】 This study aims to elucidate the effect of isolated cerebellar lesions sparing the brainstem on the auditory brainstem responses in children. 【Methods】 We enrolled 10 children (aged 1?16 years) with cerebellar lesions on neuroimaging but lacking clinical brainstem involvement signs and with normal brainstem volumes on magnetic resonance imaging. 【Results】 The interpeak latency of waves I and V was normal in 9 patients and was marginally prolonged in 1 patient. While amplitudes of waves I and III were normal, we noted a decreased amplitude of wave V and/or an increased I/V amplitude ratio in 6 patients; these included 5 of 8 patients with cerebellar hypoplasia/atrophy and 1 patient with acute cerebellar ataxia. 【Conclusion】 Our results support the hypothesis of an inhibitory input from the cerebellar fastigial nucleus on the inferior colliculus, which might be disinhibited because of Purkinje cells dysfunction due to cerebellar cortex lesions, especially within the cerebellar vermis

Secreted Ectodomain of SIGLEC-9 and MCP-1 Synergistically Improve Acute Liver Failure in Rats by Altering Macrophage Polarity

Effective treatments for acute liver failure (ALF) are still lacking. We recently reported that a single intravenous administration of serum-free conditioned medium from stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED-CM) into the D-galactosamine (D-Gal)-induced rat ALF model improves the liver injury. However, the specific factors in SHED-CM that are responsible for resolving ALF remain unclear. Here we found that depleting SHED-CM of two anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage inducers—monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and the secreted ectodomain of sialic acidbinding Ig-like lectin-9 (sSiglec-9)—abolished its ability to resolve rat ALF. Furthermore, treatment with MCP-1/sSiglec-9 alone dramatically improved the survival of ALF rats. This treatment induced anti-inflammatory M2, suppressed hepatocyte apoptosis, and promoted hepatocyte proliferation. Treatment with an M2-depletion reagent (mannosylated clodronate liposomes) suppressed the recovery. In addition, MCP-1 and sSiglec-9 synergistically promoted the M2 differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages via CCR2, accompanied by the production of multiple liver-regenerating factors. The conditioned medium from MCP-1/sSiglec-9-activated M2 macrophages, but not from interleukin-4-induced ones, suppressed the D-Gal- and LPS-induced apoptosis of primary hepatocytes and promoted their proliferation in vitro. The unique combination of MCP-1/sSiglec-9 ameliorates rat ALF by inhibiting hepatocellular apoptosis and promoting liver regeneration through the induction of anti-inflammatory/tissue-repairing M2 macrophages

非破壊葉面積指数計測にもとづくイネの成長特性の評価

京都大学0048新制・課程博士博士(農学)甲第19755号農博第2151号新制||農||1038(附属図書館)学位論文||H28||N4971(農学部図書室)32791京都大学大学院農学研究科農学専攻(主査)教授 白岩 立彦, 教授 奥本 裕, 教授 稲村 達也学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Agricultural ScienceKyoto UniversityDFA

Effects of Cultivation Management on Pearl Millet Yield and Growth Differed with Rainfall Conditions in a Seasonal Wetland of Sub-Saharan Africa

The production of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) is important in Namibia, in sub-Saharan Africa, owing to the prevailing low precipitation conditions. Most fields supporting crop production in northern Namibia are located in a network of seasonal wetlands. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of ridging and fertilizer application on the yield and the growth of pearl millet in the seasonal wetlands under different rainfall conditions. The study was conducted for two years (2017–2018) in the experimental fields in northern Namibia, and yield, yield components, and growth parameters were evaluated in relation to the application of different fertilizers (manure and mineral) with and without ridge-furrows. Manure fertilizer application presented the highest yield in 2018, whereas mineral fertilizer application showed the highest yield in 2017. The proportion of rainfall was the highest during the mid-growth period in 2017, and the reproductive stage in 2018. Thus, pearl millet plants under manure fertilization overcame damage resulting from waterlogging stress during the seed setting stage by improving the soil and plant nutrient conditions. In contrast, the plants under mineral fertilization were more tolerant to large amounts of rain during the mid-growth period. In this study, yield was mainly determined by total dry weight, and it was closely related to panicle density in both years. Therefore, we concluded that fertilizer application, including additional fertilizer based on the growth diagnostic, could be important for improving crop production in seasonal wetlands

Parameterization of the vertical distribution of leaf area index (LAI) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) using a plant canopy analyzer

Monitoring the vertical distribution of leaf area index (LAI) is an effective method for evaluating canopy photosynthesis and biomass productivity. In this study, we proposed a novel method to characterize LAI vertical distribution non-destructively by utilizing LAI-2200 plant canopy analyzer, followed by the application of statistical moment equations. Field experiments were conducted with 5 rice cultivars under 2 fertilizer treatments in 2013 and with 3 rice cultivars under 3 plant density treatments in 2014. LAI readings obtained by a plant canopy analyzer for non-destructive stratified measurements were relatively consistent with LAI estimations using the stratified clipping method for every cultivar and treatment. The parameters calculated using the statistical moment equations numerically showed the changes in LAI vertical distribution with plant growth up to the heading stage. The differences in the parameters also quantified the effect of cultivar, fertilizer, and plant density treatments. These results suggest that the non-destructive stratified measurements and the statistical moments evaluated in this study provide quantitative, reliable information on the dynamics of LAI vertical distribution. The method is expected to be utilized by researchers in various research fields sharing common interests

Applicability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to evaluate leaf area index (LAI) and its growth rate of rice in farmers’ fields in Lao PDR

Rice is the most important crop in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is proposed as a more suitable method to evaluate rice growth in this area because it is independent from cloud and solar illumination. This study analyzed the relationship between the back scattering coefficient (BSC) in SAR images and leaf area index (LAI) of rice. Here, we discuss the applicability of SAR to estimate LAI and its growth rate in farmers’ fields in Lao PDR. 30 farmers’ paddy fields were selected for surveying throughout the growth period in the wet season of 2013, and both LAI and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were measured at 4 time periods before the heading period for each field. X-band SAR images from the COSMO-SkyMed system (SAR) were used in this study. BSC was significantly correlated with LAI and NDVI. BSC at 28 of 30 fields was positively correlated with days after transplanting (DAT), and 10 of these results were significant. The increased rate in BSC obtained at the fields where BSC and DAT had a significant correlation, were significantly correlated with that in LAI. This finding suggests that if SAR images demonstrate significant increases of BSC against DAT, the increased rate may also represent LAI growth rate, although uncontrollable water levels and weeds occasionally interrupt observation. This study demonstrates the capacity of SAR to evaluate rice production in developing countries