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Volume 21 (2007)
- Issue 4 Pages 113-
- Issue 3 Pages 47-
- Issue 2 Pages 21-
- Issue 1 Pages 3-
Volume 21, Issue 4
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
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Saho Nakano, Kouichi Soga, Kazuyuki Wakabayashi, Takayuki Hoson2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 113-116
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSEffects of hypergravity on growth and the levels of cell wall polysaccharides were examined along epicotyls of dark-grown azuki bean (Vigna angularis Ohwi et Ohashi cv. Erimowase). Elongation growth occurred only in the upper regions, which was suppressed by hypergravity at 300 G. The fresh weight also increased in the upper regions, but hypergravity increased it only slightly in the basal regions. The thickness of epicotyls was increased clearly in the upper regions and slightly in the basal regions by hypergravity. The levels of pectin, hemicellulose-I, and hemicellulose-II per unit length of epicotyl were increased by hypergravity in the upper regions, but not in the basal ones. Also, the levels of xyloglucans were increased by hypergravity only in the upper regions. On the other hand, the levels of cellulose per unit length increased from the apical to the basal regions, and hypergravity further increased the levels in all regions. These results suggest that cellulose, instead of xyloglucans, acts as anti-gravitational polysaccharides in the basal regions. Cellulose and xyloglucans may cooperate in resistance of whole stem organs to the gravitational force.View full abstractDownload PDF (487K) -
Tetsuya Sakashita, Nobuyuki Hamada, Michiyo Suzuki, Daisuke D. Ikeda, ...2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 117-120
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSLearning impairment following ionizing irradiation is an important potential risk for astronauts. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for studying the nervous system, we previously showed that ionizing radiation affected salt chemotaxis learning behavior only at the transition stage of learning conditioning, which induced additional decreases in chemotaxis to NaCl immediately after irradiation. In the present study, we investigated the effects of γ-ray irradiation on olfactory adaptation to benzaldehyde, in which animals show a decrease in chemotaxis to benzaldehyde. Irradiation during the conditioning for adaptation to benzaldehyde did not induce an additional decrease in chemotaxis immediately after irradiation. On the other hand, at 1 h after irradiation, the progress of adaptation to benzaldehyde was interrupted by irradiation with the highest dose. These results indicate that impaired olfactory adaptation to benzaldehyde following irradiation is different from salt chemotaxis learning in C. elegans. Our findings suggest that the profile of radiation-induced response depends on the function of the nervous system in C. elegans.View full abstractDownload PDF (654K) -
Tairo Oshima, Toshiyuki Moriya, Shinjiro Kanazawa, Masamichi Yamashita2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 121-123
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSHigh-temperature compost is a promising new technology to decompose organic wastes in orbiting space stations and human-inhabiting facilities on the Moon, Mars and other planets. We developed laboratory-scale models of high-temperature composters based on hyperthermophilic aerobic bacterial ecology. Organic wastes are processed in a reaction vessel heated to 80°C by the action of soil microorganisms taken from a high-temperature compost factory. Wastes, including animal bodies and inedible parts of vegetables such as stalks or center cores of cabbage and fruits, were digested within a few days in our model reactors. In order to improve composting performance, we isolated and identified thermophilic microorganisms, which played crucial roles in degrading organic substances in the model reactors. We also isolated and purified enzymes which are capable of processing hard-to-digest proteins, namely collagen, elastin and keratin. Microbial diversity in the high-temperature compost soil cultured in the laboratory model reactors was examined by DNAs extracted from compost soil samples.View full abstractDownload PDF (250K) -
Jun Mitsuhashi2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 124-128
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSApplication of insects is discussed for pleasant living in closed space environment. Insects are useful in various way. Some insects are quite effective to process metabolic waste and dead body of animals. Larvae of flies are candidate insect useful in space agriculture. Because of shorter life cycle of fly compared to silkworm, its proliferation rate is much greater than silkworm. It is a problem of culture whether the consumption of fly larvae to recycle dead human body could be acceptable in space agriculture.View full abstractDownload PDF (1861K) -
- Surface Materials on Mars and its Possible Use for AgricultureYuuki Yazawa, Maiko Saito, Hiroshi Takeda2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 129-134
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn order to evaluate feasibility of synthesizing ecological system on Moon and Mars for sustaining human life there, it is required to prepare environment, which enables to support photosynthetic activity of plants. Surface materials, crust over mantle and thin soil layer, are important factor for life. Evolution of surface materials, including weathering of minerals, is compared between Earth, Moon and Mars.View full abstractDownload PDF (6817K) -
Hidenori Wada2007 Volume 21 Issue 4 Pages 135-141
Published: 2007
Released on J-STAGE: September 02, 2008
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSAgriculture on Earth has developed at several areas in various ecosystems during long periods after the end of the final glaciation by replacing natural producers with crops and by making human as a sole cousumer mainly through the method of trial and error. On the contrary, agriculture on Mars should be created rapidly and unmistakably under natural conditions completely different from those on Earth. In addition, the agriculture on Mars should supply clean water and air as well as foods necessary for sustaining the emigrants to Mars. This can be achieved by a strategy consisting of two stages. The first stage is to modify the air, water, and debris inside an artificial dome somewhat similar to those on Earth. The second stage is to establish a sustainable agriculture on Mars. These two stages are discussed rather in detail.View full abstractDownload PDF (1011K)
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